Steroids

Abstract

Steroids are members of a large class of lipid compounds called terpenes that are biogenically derived from the same parent compound, isoprene, C 5 H 8 . Steroids contain or are derived from the perhydro‐1,2‐cyclopentenophenanthrene ring system and are found in a variety of different marine, terrestrial, and synthetic sources. Nonhormonal steroids, eg, sterols and bile acids; vitamin D; and hormonal steroids, eg, the human sex hormones (androgens, estrogens, and progestins) and corticosteroids (glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids) play critical roles in the physiology and biochemistry of most living creatures. Other naturally occurring steroids, such as plant steroids, marine steroids, ecdysteroids, cardiac steroids, steroid alkaloids, and steroid antibiotics, have a plethora of biological activities and uses. Many synthetic steroids are the product of pharmaceutical research that has resulted in the development of several steroid‐based medicines with a market value over $10 billion. Among the medicinally important synthetic steroids, are antihormones, anesthetics, antiinflammatories, antiasthmatics, contraceptive drugs, antibiotics, anticancer agents, cardiovascular agents, and osteoporosis drugs.

Isolation and Identification of Steroidal Saponins in Taiwanese Yam Cultivar (Dioscorea pseudojaponica Yamamoto)

“…Saponins have many biological activities such as hemolytic ( , ), antithrombotic ( , ), anti-antineoplastic ( , ), hypoglycemic (), hypocholesterolemic ( , ), antiviral (), and anticancer ( , ). Diosgenin, the aglycon part of the yam steroid saponin, is a principal raw material for the industrial production of steroid drugs, which is obtained after hydrolysis of yam saponins ( , ).…”

A Concise Account of Various Approaches for Stereoselective Construction of the C-20(H) Stereogenic Center in Steroid Side Chain

“…Sterols are compounds containing a perhydro-1,2-cyclopentenophenanthrene ring system and are found in a variety of different marine, terrestrial, and synthetic sources. The vast diversity of natural and synthetic members of this class depends on variation in side-chain substitution (primarily at C-17), degree of unsaturation, degree and nature of oxidation, and stereochemical relationship at the ring junctions . The most frequently encountered sterol of animal origin is the highly lipophilic compound cholesterol, 1 , which is metabolized to bile acids in the liver and also serves as starting material for the synthesis of steroid hormones.…”

Chemical fingerprint analysis and quantitative determination of steroidal compounds from Dioscorea villosa, Dioscorea species and dietary supplements using UHPLC‐ELSD

“…The rhizomes and roots of this plant are used for their phyto‐estrogenic properties, such as the treatment of menstrual complaints and rheumatoid arthritis (Braun and Cohen, ; Chang, ; Soffa, ). Many reports have indicated that diosgenin (the aglycon of the yam steroidal saponin) could be used as a precursor for the partial synthesis of steroid‐based drugs, such as progesterone and testosterone (Chen and Wu, ; Morgan, ).…”