Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Simultaneous Analysis of Free/Bound Phytosterols and Diosgenin in Taiwanese Yams

  • Published:
Food Analytical Methods Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Gas chromatography (GC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods were developed for the simultaneous analysis of phytosterols and diosgenin in two representative Taiwanese yams, Dioscorea pseudojaponica Yamamoto and Dioscorea alata L. The major phytosterols found were β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, and campesterol. GC afforded good separation of phytosterols and diosgenin, with the diosgenin peak appearing between stigmasterol and β-sitosterol. For HPLC, UV detection had higher sensitivity (detection limits 0.03–0.09 μg); however, evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD) achieved higher noise tolerance and did not show baseline interference from solvent gradients. In addition, mixed solvents for extraction before acid hydrolysis, which is necessary to avoid fibers and acid hydrolysates binding to the target compounds, were evaluated. Phytosterol contents of 30.1 and 9.9 mg/100 g were found in D. pseudojaponica Yamamoto and D. alata L., respectively. Diosgenin was only found in D. pseudojaponica Yamamoto at a content of 15.2 mg/100 g.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Araghiniknam M, Chung S, Nelson-White T, Eskelson C, Watson RR (1996) Antioxidant activity of dioscorea and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in older humans. Life Sci 59(11):147–157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biedermann M, Grob K, Mariani C, Schmidt JP (1996) Detection of desterolized sunflower oil in olive oil through isomerized Δ7-sterols. Eur Food Res Tech 202:199–204

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bradford PG, Awad AB (2007) Phytosterols as anticancer compounds. Mol Nutr Food Res 51(2):161–170

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Breinhölder P, Mosca L, Lindner W (2002) Concept of sequential analysis of free and conjugated phytosterols in different plant matrices. J Chromatogr B 777(1–2):67–82

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen Y, Wu Y (1994) Progress in research and manufacturing of steroidal sapogenins in China. J Herbs Spices Med Plants 2:59–70

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Corbiere C, Liagre B, Terro F, Beneytout JL (2004) Induction of antiproliferative effect by diosgenin through activation of p53, release of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) and modulation of caspase-3 activity in different human cancer cells. Cell Res 14:188–196

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • de Lourdes C-PM, Santacruz-Ruvalcaba F, García-Fajardo JA, de Jesús Sánchez GJ, Ruíz LMA, Estarrón-Espinosa M, Castro-Castro A (2013) Diosgenin quantification, characterisation and chemical composition in a tuber collection of Dioscorea spp. in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. Int J Food Sci Tech 48:2111–2118

    Google Scholar 

  • Desai S, Tatke P, Gabhe SY (2015) Quantification of diosgenin in extracts and formulations containing Solanum nigrum. Int J Pharm Sci Res 6(2):676–681

    Google Scholar 

  • Deshpande HA, Bhalsing SR (2014a) Plant derived novel biomedicinal: diosgenin. Int J Pharmacognosy Phytochem Res 6(4):780–784

    Google Scholar 

  • Deshpande HA, Bhalsing SR (2014b) Isolation and characterization of diosgenin from in vitro cultured tissues of Helicteres isora L. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 20(1):89–94

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dutta CP, Appelqvist LA (1996) Saturated sterols (stanols) in unhydrogenated and hydrogenated edible vegetable oils and in cereal lipids. J Sci Food Agri 71(3):383–391

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hu K, Dong A, Yao XS, Kobayashi H, Iwasaki S (1996) Antineoplastic agents. I. Three spirostanol glycosides from rhizomes of Dioscorea collettii var. hypoglauca. Planta Med 62:573–575

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kessilmeier J, Eichenberger W, Urban B (1985) High-performance liquid-chromatography of molecular-species from free sterols and sterylglycosides isolated from oat leaves and seeds. Plant Cell Phsiol 26(3):463–471

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lagarda MJ, Garcıa-Llatas G, Farre R (2006) Analysis of phytosterols in foods. J Pharm Biomed Anal 41:1486–1496

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laila O, Murtaza I, Abdin MZ, Ahmad S, Ganai NA, Jehangir M (2014) Development and validation of HPTLC method for simultaneous estimation of diosgenin and quercetin in fenugreek seeds (Trigonella foenum-graceum). ISRN Chromatogra 583047:1–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li J, Yang D, Yu K, He J, Zhang Y (2010) Determination of diosgenin content in medicinal plants with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Planta Med 76(16):1915–1920

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lin Y-C (2003) The analysis of steroids in yam cultivars and the changes during food processing. Master thesis of Institute of Food Science and Technology of National Taiwan University

  • Lin J-T, Yang D-J (2008) Determination of steroidal saponins in different organs of yam (Dioscorea pseudojaponica Yamamoto). Food Chem 108:1068–1074

  • López-Hernandez J, Sanchez-Machado DI, Paseiro-Losada P (2004) An HPLC method for the quantification of sterols in edible seaweeds. Biomed Chromatogra 18:183–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McAnuff MA, Harding WW, Omoruyi FO, Jacobs H, Morrison EY, Asemota HN (2005) Hypoglycemic effects of steroidal sapogenins isolated from Jamaican bitter yam, Dioscorea polygonoides. Food Chem Toxico 43:1667–1672

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moreau RA, Whitaker BD, Hicks KB (2002) Phytosterols, phytostanols, and their conjugates in foods: structural diversity, quantitative analysis, and health-promoting uses. Prog Lipid Res 41(6):457–500

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nagore DH, Patil PS, Kuber VV (2012) Comparison between high performance liquid chromatography and high performance thin layer chromatography determination of diosgenin from fenugreek seeds. Int J Green Pharma 6(4):315–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nappez C, Liagre B, Beneytout JL (1995) Changes in lipoxygenase activities in human erythroleukemia cells during diosgenin-induced differentiation. Cancer Lett 96:133–140

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nino J, Jimenez DA, Mosquera OM, Correa YM (2007) Diosgenin quantification by HPLC in a Dioscorea polygonoides tuber collection from Colombian flora. J Braz Chem Soc 18:1073–1076

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Othman RA, Moghadasian MH (2011) Beyond cholesterol-lowering effects of plant sterols: clinical and experimental evidence of anti-inflammatory properties. Nutr Rev 69(7):371–382

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patel K, Gadewar M, Tahilyani V, Patel DK (2012) A review on pharmacological and analytical aspects of diosgenin: a concise report. Nat Prod Biopros 2(2):46–52

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Piironen V, Toivo J, Lampi AM (2002) Plant sterols in cereals and cereal products. Cereal Chem 79(1):148–154

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Raju J, Mehta R (2008) Cancer chemopreventive and therapeutic effects of diosgenin, a food saponin. Nutr Cancer 61(1):27–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Son IS, Kim JH, Sohn HY, Son KH, Kim JS, Kwon CS (2007) Antioxidative and hypolipidemic effects of diosgenin, a steroidal saponin of yam (Dioscorea spp.), on high-cholesterol fed rats. Biosci Biotech Biochem 71:3063–3071

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sudhop T, Lütjohann D, Bergmann K (2005) Sterol transporters: targets of natural sterols and new lipid lowering drugs. Pharmacol Ther 105(3):333–341

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sulakshana G, Rani AS (2014) HPLC analysis of diosgenin in three species of Costus. Int J Pharm Sci Res 5(11):747–749

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor WG, Elder JL, Chang PR, Richards KW (2000) Microdetermination of diosgenin from fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) seeds. J Agri Food Chem 48(11):5206–5210

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Toivo J, Lampi AM, Aalto S, Aalta S, Piironen V (2000) Factors affecting sample preparation in the gas chromatographic determination of plant sterols in whole wheat flour. Food Chem 68(2):239–245

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Nutrient Data Laboratory. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 28. Version Current: 2015. Internet: http://www.ars.usda.gov/ba/bhnrc/ndl

  • Vendl O, Wawrosch C, Noe C, Molina C, Kahl G, Kopp B (2006) Diosgenin contents and DNA fingerprint screening of various yam (Dioscorea sp.) genotypes. Z Naturforsch 61c(11–12):847–855

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamazaki T, Arai K, Matsushita Y, Tokuji Y, Kawahara M, Ohba K, Kinoshita M, Ohnishi M (2011) Chemical composition of lipids in freeze-dried tubers of Chinese yam harvested in Hokkaido and their growth inhibition of human colon cancer cells. Nippon Shokuhin Kagaku Kogaku Kaishi 58(12):567–575

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang D-J, Lu T-J, Hwang LS (2003a) Simultaneous determination of furostanol and spirostanol glycosides in Taiwanese yam (Dioscorea spp.) cultivars by high-performance liquid chromatography. J Food Drug Anal 11:271–276

  • Yang D-J, Lu T-J, Hwang LS (2003b) Isolation and identification of steroidal saponins in Taiwanese yam cultivar (Dioscorea pseudojaponica Yamamoto). J Agri Food Chem 51:6438–6444

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yi T, Fan L-L, Chen H-L, Zhu G-Y, Suen H-M, Tang Y-N, Zhu L, Chu C, Zhao Z-Z, Chen H-B (2014) Comparative analysis of diosgenin in Dioscorea species and related medicinal plants by UPLC-DAD-MS. BMC Biochem 15:19–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Food Science and Technology, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei, Taiwan, 10617, Republic of China

    Ting -Jang Lu, Chia-Wen Yu & Yu-Chih Lin

  2. Department of Applied Science of Living, Chinese Culture University, 55, Hwa-Kang Road, Yang-Ming-Shan, Taipei, Taiwan, 11114, Republic of China

    Huei-Ju Wang

Authors
  1. Ting -Jang Lu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chia-Wen Yu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yu-Chih Lin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Huei-Ju Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Huei-Ju Wang.

Ethics declarations

Funding

This study was funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology (grant number 94-2214-E-254-001-).

Conflict of Interest

Ting-Jang Lu declares that he has no conflict of interest. Chia-Wen Yu declares that she has no conflict of interest. Yu-Chih Lin declares that she has no conflict of interest. Huei-Ju Wang declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed Consent

Informed consent is not applicable for this study.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lu, T.J., Yu, CW., Lin, YC. et al. Simultaneous Analysis of Free/Bound Phytosterols and Diosgenin in Taiwanese Yams. Food Anal. Methods 10, 1172–1180 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-016-0685-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-016-0685-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation