Abstract
Heloniopsis japonica Maxim. (=H. orientalis Koidz.) is a perennial herb of Liliaceae family that grows wild in various parts of Japan. It has never been used as home remedies and no studies have ever been made of its constituents. A kind of amorphous crude saponin was isolated from the whole plant, collected during the flowering season. Hydrolysis of the saponin or the methanolic extract of the plant with hydrochloric acid yielded a kind of sapogenin as white needles, m.p. 206-207°, which gave an acetate of m.p. 197-198°. The analytical values corresponded to formula C27H42O3 for sapogenin, and C29H44O4 for the acetate, from which it was assumed that the sapogenin was identical with diosgenin.
