Sapogenins are

aglycone An aglycone (aglycon or genin) is the chemical compound remaining after the glycosyl group on a glycoside is replaced by a hydrogen atom. For example, the aglycone of a cardiac glycoside would be a steroid A steroid is an organic compoun ...

s (non-

saccharide A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' m ...

moieties) of

saponin Saponins (Latin ''sapon'', 'soap' + ''-in'', 'one of') are bitter-tasting, usually toxic plant-derived secondary metabolites. They are organic chemicals that become foamy when agitated in water and have high molecular weight. They are present ...

s, a large family of natural products. Sapogenins contain

steroid A steroid is an organic compound with four fused compound, fused rings (designated A, B, C, and D) arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes t ...

or other triterpene frameworks as their key organic feature. For example, steroidal sapogenins such as tiggenin, neogitogenin, and tokorogenin have been isolated from the

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reproduc ...

s of '' Chlorophytum arundinaceum''. Some steroidal sapogenins can serve as a practical starting point for the

semisynthesis Semisynthesis, or partial chemical synthesis, is a type of chemical synthesis that uses chemical compounds isolated from natural sources (such as microbiology, microbial cell cultures or plant material) as the starting materials to produce novel ...

of particular steroid hormones. Diosgenin and hecogenin are other examples of sapogenins.

References

Phytochemicals Triterpenes Alcohols {{organic-compound-stub