The Mexican barbasco trade was the trade of the
diosgenin
Diosgenin, a phytosteroid sapogenin, is the product of hydrolysis by acids, strong bases, or enzymes of saponins, extracted from the tubers of '' Dioscorea'' wild yam species, such as the Kokoro. The sugar-free ( aglycone) product of such hy ...
-rich
yam species ''
Dioscorea mexicana'', ''
Dioscorea floribunda
''Dioscorea floribunda'', the medicinal yam or mule's-hoof, is a species of flowering plant in the family Dioscoreaceae. It is found from central Mexico to northern Central America. It is grown commercially for its diosgenin
Diosgenin, a phytos ...
'' and ''
Dioscorea composita
''Dioscorea composita'', or barbasco, is a species of yam in the genus ''Dioscorea'', native to Mexico. It is notable for its role in the production of diosgenin, which is a precursor for the synthesis of hormones such as progesterone. Russell ...
'' which emerged in Mexico in the 1950s as part of the
Mexican steroid industry. The trade consisted in Mexican
campesinos harvesting the root in the jungle, selling it to middlemen who brought it to processing plants where the root was fermented and the diosgenin extracted and sold to pharmaceutical companies such as
Syntex Laboratorios Syntex SA (later Syntex Laboratories, Inc.) was a pharmaceutical company formed in Mexico City in January 1944 by Russell Marker, Emeric Somlo, and Federico Lehmann to manufacture therapeutic steroids from the Mexican yams called ''cab ...
who used it to produce
synthetic hormones
A hormone (from the Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs by complex biological processes to regulate physiology and behavior. Hormones are required fo ...
.
History
Scientific discovery of medicinal properties
The trade started when
Russell Marker
Russell Earl Marker (March 12, 1902 – March 3, 1995) was an American chemist who invented the octane rating system when he was working at the Ethyl Corporation. Later in his career, he went on to found a steroid industry in Mexico when he s ...
, a chemist looking for a plant source from which to extract
diosgenin
Diosgenin, a phytosteroid sapogenin, is the product of hydrolysis by acids, strong bases, or enzymes of saponins, extracted from the tubers of '' Dioscorea'' wild yam species, such as the Kokoro. The sugar-free ( aglycone) product of such hy ...
and
saponin
Saponins (Latin "sapon", soap + "-in", one of), also selectively referred to as triterpene glycosides, are bitter-tasting usually toxic plant-derived organic chemicals that have a foamy quality when agitated in water. They are widely distributed ...
, traveled to
Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
looking for the yam ''Dioscorea mexicana'' which he suspected might be suitable. He hired two Mexican campesinos to bring him exemplars of the
tuber
Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing ...
. When he discovered that the root was indeed a significant source of diosgenin he established Syntex, the first Mexican fine chemical company dedicated to producing
semisynthetic hormones from Barbasco. Before this development, natural hormones were extracted from animal sources, such as urine from pregnant mares or women, or from bull testes; prices were consequently very high. With the development of the process of
Marker degradation which allowed the production of hormones from vegetable
saponin
Saponins (Latin "sapon", soap + "-in", one of), also selectively referred to as triterpene glycosides, are bitter-tasting usually toxic plant-derived organic chemicals that have a foamy quality when agitated in water. They are widely distributed ...
sources, Marker began a search for a plant
steroid
A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and ...
of the sapogenin class with a ring structure more like
progesterone
Progesterone (P4) is an endogenous steroid and progestogen sex hormone involved in the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and embryogenesis of humans and other species. It belongs to a group of steroid hormones called the progestogens and is the majo ...
. With the discovery of the chemical properties of the barbasco root, world market prices for steroids and other synthetic hormones plummeted – making them feasible for large scale production of medicines for common ailments such as
arthritis
Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...
or
Addison's disease
Addison's disease, also known as primary adrenal insufficiency, is a rare long-term endocrine disorder characterized by inadequate production of the steroid hormones cortisol and aldosterone by the two outer layers of the cells of the adrena ...
, and eventually as the basis for the
combined oral contraceptive pill
The combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP), often referred to as the birth control pill or colloquially as "the pill", is a type of birth control that is designed to be taken orally by women. The pill contains two important hormones: proges ...
.
The development of the industry
This development sparked a barbasco extraction industry centered on the barbasco-rich areas of southeastern Mexico, in Northern
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the Federative Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 570 municipaliti ...
, Southern
Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
and
Puebla
Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
states. Especially the area called
Chinantla in Northern Oaxaca, around the cities of
Tuxtepec and
Valle Nacional. The root was extracted in the wild by ''barbasqueros'', often poor
Indigenous Chinantecs, who ventured into the jungle to dig out the tuber with digging sticks or with their bare hands. Before becoming used industrially, the tuber was used by
Chinantec healers in northern
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the Federative Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 570 municipaliti ...
as an
abortifacient
An abortifacient ("that which will cause a miscarriage" from Latin: '' abortus'' "miscarriage" and '' faciens'' "making") is a substance that induces abortion. This is a nonspecific term which may refer to any number of substances or medications, ...
and in cures for aching joints. It was also used by Chinantecs as a poison for fishing in the
Papaloapan river.
By the mid 1970s 125,000 Mexican peasants depended on the barbasco trade for their livelihood, and ten tons of Barbasco per week were extracted from the wild.
Quickly a system of middlemen appeared, as those who had enough means to pay ''barbasqueros'', started buying large quantities, often using a system of
debt peonage. They would start by giving the ''barbasquero'' a loan which he or she would then have to pay off with barbasco. These middlemen would eventually establish ''acopios'', recollection and distribution centrals where large quantities of barbasco are gathered and shipped on to the ''beneficios'', the processing plants.
The production process
At the processing plants the tuber is inspected, washed and chopped up, and mixed with water to produce a thick paste. The paste is then put into fermentation vats where it remains several days, after which it is taken out and sun dried on a concrete floor where it is turned by workers using rakes. In the process of drying the paste crystallizes into diosgenin granules, also called flour. The flour is then bagged and sent to laboratories where the diosgenin content is measured and the price is calculated based on the diosgenin percentage, which varies from 4–6%.
Knowledge of the uses and purposes of the barbasco tuber was highly stratified and barbasqueros often did not know the true purpose of the root they were gathering: they were frequently told that it was used for soap.
The acopio owners knew more about the process and eventually invented ways of improving the diosgenin concentration in roots collected by adding different solvents to the tubers before shipping them to the beneficios.
End of the ''barbasco'' era
In the late 1970s, populist President
Luis Echeverría
Luis Echeverría Álvarez (; 17 January 1922 – 8 July 2022) was a Mexican lawyer, academic, and politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), who served as the 57th president of Mexico from 1970 to 1976. Previously ...
sought to organize and nationalize the barbasco trade in order to provide more benefits to the barbasqueros and to the Mexican state. He established the organization PROQUIVEMEX (Productos Químicos Vegetales de México). However, at this point Mexico had lost its status as a world leader of the synthetic hormone market and the barbasco trade was declining, just as the root was becoming depleted in the wild.
Also during the 1970s it became possible to produce steroids from soy
phytosterols, including
progesterone
Progesterone (P4) is an endogenous steroid and progestogen sex hormone involved in the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and embryogenesis of humans and other species. It belongs to a group of steroid hormones called the progestogens and is the majo ...
. This meant that barbasco was no longer necessary as a base product, and international reliance on Mexican yam stopped. Today only a few communities in Northern Oaxaca continue to produce barbasco, and the few existing beneficios process only a few tons per year. In 1999 65% of families in the municipio of
Santiago Jocotepec depended on barbasco production, whereas in the municipios of
San Juan Lalana it was 29.2%, in
San Felipe Usila 28.3 and in
San Lucas Ojitlan 24.4%.
[De Teresa, Ana Paula. 1999. Población y recursos en la región chinanteca d Oaaxaca. Desacatos, Primavera 001. CIESAS, DF, Méxic]
/ref>
References
{{reflist
History of Mexico
Pharmaceutical industry
Industrial history
Resource extraction