Definition of "diosgenin" []

• A steroid sapogenin, obtained from certain yams, that has estrogenic activity (noun)

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• "All estrogen products are chemically synthesized, primarily from an active ingredient called diosgenin, a molecule extracted from the tubers and flowers of various plants including Dioscorea, a wild yam."
• "In the 1950s, barbasco was heavily harvested for diosgenin, which is an ingredient of contraceptive products."
• "After having his proposals for the large-scale production of human steroids from diosgenin turned down by U.S. pharmaceutical companies, Marker moved to Mexico and began his own, home-based, small scale production."