Steroids sarsaparilla

Folklore Although there are steroidal compounds present in sarsaparilla, the rumoured presence of testosterone, which made it of interest to body-builders, has not been substantiated. The root has been used in soft drinks and root beers. Sarsaparilla was introduced into Europe following the Spanish colonization of South America. It was regarded as a cure-all and was established in pharmacopoeias until the early twentieth century (Bown, 2003 British Herbal Medicine Association, 1983 Giuenwald et al, 2002 Tierra, 1998). 

With the exception of Avenae sativae herba, Rusci aciileati radix, Sarsaparillae radix (steroid saponins) most saponin drugs contain a complex mixture of monodesmosidic or bidesmosidic triterpene glycosides. 

Fig. 1 This solvent system and the AS reagent are suitable for the separation and the detection of triterpene-saponins, e.g. senegins in Senegae radix (1), as well as steroid (ester) saponins, e.g. Smilax saponins in Sarsaparillae radix (2).

Marker s synthesis was initially based on sarsasapogenin as starting material from root extracts of the Mexican sarsaparilla plant (Smilax aristolochiaefolia), and later on diosgenin. Diosgenin is found as the 3-glycoside (dioscin) in numerous Liliaceae and Dioscoreaceae species, and may be extracted with ethanol from the air-dried rhizomes of Dioscorea tokoro, Dioscorea macrostachya, Dioscorea mexicana, Dioscorea floribunda and Dioscorea composita (Barbasco). The extract is evaporated and heated with dilute hydrochloric or sulfuric acid to cleave the glycosidic bond. Subsequently, diosgenin is filtered off and used as such for the synthesis of steroid hormones. 

Sarsaparilla products, along with other sterol containing plants, have in recent years been touted as performance-enhancing or body-building substitutes for anabolic steroids sold primarily to athletes. No human or animal studies substantiate these claims. Plant sterols cannot be bio-chemically transformed in vivo into steroidal compounds, and have not been shown to promote anabolic effects in humans. ... 

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