Nature's Pharmacy
Mexican wild yam
In 1936, Japanese researchers discovered the compound diosgenin in the Mexican
wild yam. Like stigmasterol, diosgenin provides a starting material for
synthesizing many steroids, such as estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone,
as well as drugs such as the birth-control pill. Mexican yams are cheap and
plentiful, and just two to three of their roots can yield up to a pound of
diosgenin.