Description
CAS No. : 126-19-2
Molecular Formula : C27H44O3
Molecular Weight : 416.64
Product Description :
Sarsasapogenin is a steroidal sapogenin, that is the aglycosidic portion of a plant saponin. Sarsasapogenin and its C-25 epimer smilagenin lowered blood sugar and reversed diabetic weight gain in experiments with in mice with a mutant diabetes gene (db). Both steroids also halted the decline in muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease. In both cases, the effects seem to be specific to the 5β-configuration, the cis-linkage between rings A and B, as diosgenin (with a Δ5 double bond which can be hydrogenated in the body) had much lower anti-diabetic activity (and no significant effect on mAChRs) while tigogenin (the 5α-epimer of smilagenin) showed no effect at all in either study.