Ethnobotanical Leaflets 11: 45-51. 2007.
Comprehensive Notes on Commercial
Utilization, Characteristics and Status of Steroid Yielding Plants in
K.N. Singh and
Rajesh Kaushal College of Forestry, Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, Nauni-173230, E-mail:
knsingh_03@yahoo.co.in Issued Abstract The present
article provides comprehensive information on the species used largely as
commercial steroids in India. Details regarding part(s) used, characteristics
and commercial utilization of important steroid yielding plant species are
given in the present communication. Keywords: Commercial use, Steroid yielding plants. Introduction India has a
rich heritage of plant based drugs both for use in preventive and curative
medicines. Steroids and their related active metabolites are of great value
in drug and pharmaceutical industry. They have numerous and diversified
physiological functions and pharmacological effects such as influence on
carbohydrate, protein, fat and purine metabolism; on electrolyte and water
balance; on the functional capacities of the cardiovascular system viz.,
kidney, skeletal, muscle, nervous system and some organs and tissues. The term steroid (= sterol like) is derived
from sterol (In Greek, Stereos= solid and ol=alcohol) as most of these
compounds contain alcoholic group. All the steroids are structurally related
and mostly saturated, colourless compounds found in plants and animals.
Steroid includes a variety of compounds, among which sapogenins hold a very
important position. Sapogenins when linked with sugar constitutes the
saponins. Saponins are natural products, which have the property of forming
soapy leather when shaken with water. Production of steroid drugs is a large scale industry
(Applezweig, 1962). In 1967, total world consumption of steroids precursors
was one thousand tones, two third of which came from diosgenin and the
remaining one third from the variety of miscellaneous sources. Other
steroidal alkaloids that could become available in large quantities are
tomatidine, Solasodine and Neotigogenin. Till today, more than four thousand
plant species have been investigated which has resulted in the identification
of some thirty naturally occurring steroids sapogenins many of which could
provide valuable source materials for steroids compounds. Steroidal
Sapogenin Yielding Plants A. Diosgenin Source
B. Solasodine Source
|
|
S.No. |
Name of Plant |
Part Used |
|
1 |
Agave species |
Leaves |
|
S.No. |
Name of Plant |
Part Used |
|
1 |
Asparagus
officinalis |
Roots |
|
2 |
Smilax aspera |
Leaves |
|
3 |
Trigonella foenum graceum |
Roots and Leaves |
Commercially source
material for steroids is only few species belonging mainly to the genus Dioscorea
and Solanum. Although diosgenin has been identified in other species
such as Costus speciosus, Trigonella foenum graceum and Kallstromia
pubescens but there is no evidence at present that they would be
interesting commercially, and therefore, they have not been described in
detail. Efforts have been directed towards the cultivation of several Solanum
species as the source material for the production of steroids. Genus Dioscorea,
with over 600 species is widely distributed in tropical world, except few
species in temperate. Some of the species like Dioscorea alata and Dioscorea
esculenta have been cultivated for a long for their edible tubers. There
are about 15 species of this genus, which are known to contain steroidal
sapogenins chiefly diosgenin. In the world,
Dioscorea deltoidea Wall.
It occurs throughout
the North Western Himalayas extending from Kashmir and Punjab eastwards to
Nepal and China at the altitude of 900-3000 meters above msl. It completes
growth cycle in five years. It is an extensive climber with unarmed stem
twining to the left. Leaves alternate, rhizome horizontal, scattered roots,
skin light brown. Part used is rhizome and harvesting is done after three
years during December, at dormant stage. Diosgenin varies from 2-5% on dry
weight basis.
Dioscorea prazeri Prain & Burkill.
The plant occurs in wet parts of Eastern Himalayas including North Bihar, West Bengal, Nepal,
Sikkim, Bhutan and Abhore hills upto
5500 meters and prefer well drained soils particularly river banks. It is a
climber with smooth or slightly ridged, unarmed stem twining to the left.
Leaves are alternate or rarely opposite. Part used is rhizome which is short
rather stout, gray brown to nearly black, creeping horizontally. Diosgenin
varies between 2-5% on dry weight basis.
Dioscorea floribunda Mart & Gal
It was introduced in India from Central America and is
now grown in parts of Karnataka, Assam and Goa. Like D. deltoidea, it
is also perennial vine and life cycle goes for 1-4 years. Part used is
rhizome and diosgenin content lies between 3-3.5% on dry weight basis. Two
years crop is found more economical and therefore two years old plant yield
2.5-3.0 kg rhizome.
Dioscorea composita Hemsl.
It also is a native to Central America and is grown
successfully under Jammu conditions in India. The plant is quite hardy and
vigorous which completes its life cycle in 1-5 years. The highest gains in
tuber growth are obtained only after 4-5 years. Average diosgenin content is
2-4% on dry weight basis. Among Dioscorea deltoidea, D. floribunda and
D. composita, the later is preferred for commercial production of
diosgenin. Moreover, diosgenin obtained from its tuber has highest purity.
Uses
Diosgenin
after converted into 16-Dehydropregnenolon acetate is most widely used as an
active ingredient in preparation of many steroid drugs, sex hormones and oral
contraceptive pills. Saponins of Dioscorea are used for washing silk,
wool and hair, and as fish poison.
They are also reported to kill lice. Cortisone prepared from these
species is used in rheumatic diseases and ophthalmic disorders.
Dioscorea spp., which are commercial source
of diosgenin, has limitations in ensuring large supplies on a sustained basis
due to its restricted distribution in few localities. It becomes necessary to
search for an alternative botanical source, which could be easily cultivated
under a wide range of agroclimatic conditions and provide the industry with
the raw material at comparative price. Costus speciosus satisfies all
the criteria of such a substitute.
Costus speciosus (Koenig) Sm.
It is
a common plant with a tuberous rhizome, distributed throughout India up to an
elevation of 4000 meters amsl. It is 4-10 meters in height with large
lanceolate leaves about one foot in length. Flowers are in red colour with
white limbs and yellowish centers. It is often cultivated as ornamental
plant. Part used is rhizome which constitutes average diosgenin 2-4% on dry
weight basis.
Uses
The
rhizome is edible and is used for cooking purpose and is mucilaginous without
aroma. It is rich in starch but the fibre content is high when compared with
other tuber food. The rhizome is used for tonic purpose and as anthelmintic
in Uttar Pradesh.
Trigonella foenum
graceum Linn.
An aromatic annual, about 30-60 cm tall is found wild
in Kashmir, Punjab and upper gangetic plains and also cultivated in many
parts of India. Seeds are the source of two steroidal sapogenins namely
diosgenin and gitogenin. The presence of few more sapogenins including
yamogenin has also been reported.
The seeds are
used as condiment and for flavouring the food preparations. Diosgenin was
first raw material source to be used for high volume production (Djerassi,
1966) because it was available in a readily purified form and at sufficiently
high volume that was cheaply collected.
Solasodine,
as a nitrogen analogue of diosgenin, seems to be in a strong competitive
position with diosgenin itself. Indeed, solasodine derived from Solanum
laciniatum is reported to be the sole source of cortisone and
progesterone in the USSR (Alekseenko et al.,1976). In India, Solanum
khasianum and certain other species are being cultivated for the local
production of solasodine for the use in Indian pharmaceutical industry.
Solasodine occurs mainly in the genus Solanum. This genus comprises
about 2000 species distributed in the warmer regions of the world. About 22
species are endemic to India.
Solanum khasianum Clarke.
It
is widely distributed in the Indian sub-continent extending from sea level to
2000 meters and is reported from Khasi, Jaintia and Naga hills of Assam and
Manipur and in Arunachal Pradesh up to 1850 meters. It also occurs in Sikkim,
West Bengal, Orrisa, Upper Gangetic plains, lower hills of Himalayas and in
Nilgiris to an altitude of 1600 meters. It is reported from North-East,
North-West, Southern as well as Central India and extends up to Burma and
China.
It is a stout, much branched under shrub varying in
height between 0.75m to 1.5m with almost straight prickles, leaves ovate and
lobed. Lobes triangular and prickly on both the surfaces. The flowers are
white. The berries are yellowish or
greenish. The seeds are smooth brown and compressed. Part used is berry and
solasodine content lies between 1-3% on dry weight basis. The main limitation
of this species is that it bears spines that are quite vicious. Moreover
solasodine is obtained only from berries. Therefore this species is paving
way for the use of Solanum laciniatum and Solanum aviculare in
the commercial utilization.
Soalnum laciniatum Ait.
Commonly known as Kangaroo apple and was introduced in
India from Russia. It is a perennial shrub but mostly grows up to two years.
It is about 2 meters in height with long trifurcated dark green leaves and
purplish stem and branches. The flowers are purplish blue. Berries are borne
in bunches of 5-7 with dark green colour but turn to yellowish orange colour
at maturity. Seeds are small flat, round and brownish in colour. Part used
are leaves, stem and berries. Leaves contain solasodine content to 1-3.8% and
berries (unripe greenish yellow) contain 3.5-4.0% of solasodine on dry weight
basis. Solanum khasianum and S. laciniatum are worth
considering for foliar production of solasodine.
Uses: Solasodine is used in production of sex
hormones and oral contraceptive pills.
Agave Linn.
Agave is a large genus with short stemmed half
woody plant species, bearing a rosette of long, erect, pointed and fleashy
leaves. In various species like A. Americana, A. cantala, A. sisalana, A.
angustifolia, leaves yield a valuable fibre.
Uses: Hecogenin is used for making sex hormones
and oral contraceptive pills.
From the foregoing facts, it
is clear that in order to establish and support a broad based steroid
industry, it is imperative to start large scale cultivation of various
species like Dioscorea composita and D. floribunda and
development of high yielding verities and mutants i.e. Solanum
khasianum to ensure sustainable supply of source material.
Acknowledgements
Authors are thankful to the Director, IHBT,
for providing the facilities and Dr. Brij Lal for inspirations.
Literature
Consulted
Alekseenko, L.F.,
Laptev, Y.P. and Shain, S.S. 1976. Genetika, 12: 50-58.
Anonumus, 1948.
Wealth of India (Raw material). CSIR publication. Agave Vol.I (A-B),
pp. 38-39.
Anonymus, 1950.
Wealth of India (Raw material). CSIR publication, Costus. Vol. II (C),
pp. 360-361.
Anonymus,
1952. Wealth of India (Raw material). CSIR publication, Dioscorea.
Vol.
Anonymus, 1976.
Wealth of India (Raw material). CSIR publication, Trogonella. Vol. X
(S-W), pp. 299-305.
Anonymus, 1989.
Cultivation practices of Solanum laciniatum, kangaroo apple, Inf.
No.5, College of Forestry, Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of horticulture and
Forestry, Solan, 4p.
Applezweig, N.
1962. Steroid drugs. McGraw- Hill, New York.
Atal, C.K. and
Kapur, B.M. (eds.) 1982. Cultivation and utilization of medicinal plants.
RRL, Jammu, CSIR. 877p.
Djerassi, C.1966.
Science, 151: 1055-1061.
Mahato, S.B.,
Ganguly, A.N. and Sahu, N.P. 1982. Steroid saponin- review article. Phytochemistry, 21 (5): 959 – 978.
Mann Jay, D. 1978.
Production of solasodine for the pharmaceutical industry. Advances in
Agronomy, 30: 207 – 243.
Marston, A. and
Hostetimann, K. 1985. Plant Molluscicides- Review article. Phytochemistry, 24
(4): 639 – 652.
Singh, S.B. and
Thakur, R.S. 1983. Recent advances in the chemistry of steroidal sapogenins
and their genins. Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, 42: 319-334.
Srivastava, L.J.,
Singh, J.M., Puri, U.K. and Rana, R.C. 1988. Medicinal and aromatic plant
practices – Dioscorea deltoidea Wall. Bulletin No. M & AP-1,
College of Forestry, UHF, Solan, 16p.