Editing Progesterone (section)

====Plants====
In at least one plant, ''[[Juglans regia]]'', progesterone has been detected.<ref name="pmid20108949">{{cite journal | vauthors = Pauli GF, Friesen JB, Gödecke T, Farnsworth NR, Glodny B | title = Occurrence of progesterone and related animal steroids in two higher plants | journal = Journal of Natural Products | volume = 73 | issue = 3 | pages = 338–345 | date = March 2010 | pmid = 20108949 | doi = 10.1021/np9007415 | bibcode = 2010JNAtP..73..338P | s2cid = 26467578 }}</ref> In addition, progesterone-like [[steroid]]s are found in ''[[Dioscorea mexicana]]''. ''Dioscorea mexicana'' is a plant that is part of the [[yam (vegetable)|yam]] family native to [[Mexico]].<ref name="pmid12255132">{{cite journal | vauthors = Applezweig N | title = Steroids | journal = Chemical Week | volume = 104 | pages = 57–72 | date = May 1969 | pmid = 12255132 }}</ref> It contains a steroid called [[diosgenin]] that is taken from the plant and is converted into progesterone.<ref name="pmid16946542">{{cite journal | vauthors = Noguchi E, Fujiwara Y, Matsushita S, Ikeda T, Ono M, Nohara T | title = Metabolism of tomato steroidal glycosides in humans | journal = Chemical & Pharmaceutical Bulletin | volume = 54 | issue = 9 | pages = 1312–1314 | date = September 2006 | pmid = 16946542 | doi = 10.1248/cpb.54.1312 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Diosgenin and progesterone are also found in other ''[[Dioscorea]]'' species, as well as in other plants that are not closely related, such as [[fenugreek]].

Another plant that contains substances readily convertible to progesterone is ''[[Dioscorea pseudojaponica]]'' native to [[Taiwan]]. Research has shown that the Taiwanese yam contains [[saponin]]s — steroids that can be converted to diosgenin and thence to progesterone.<ref name="pmid14558759">{{cite journal | vauthors = Yang DJ, Lu TJ, Hwang LS | title = Isolation and identification of steroidal saponins in Taiwanese yam cultivar (Dioscorea pseudojaponica Yamamoto) | journal = Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry | volume = 51 | issue = 22 | pages = 6438–6444 | date = October 2003 | pmid = 14558759 | doi = 10.1021/jf030390j | bibcode = 2003JAFC...51.6438Y | url = http://ntur.lib.ntu.edu.tw/bitstream/246246/189462/1/58.pdf | access-date = 2 April 2022 | archive-date = 3 August 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220803163123/http://ntur.lib.ntu.edu.tw/bitstream/246246/189462/1/58.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref>

Many other ''Dioscorea'' species of the yam family contain steroidal substances from which progesterone can be produced. Among the more notable of these are ''[[Dioscorea villosa]]'' and ''[[Dioscorea polygonoides]]''. One study showed that the ''Dioscorea villosa'' contains 3.5% diosgenin.<ref name="pmid15513824">{{cite journal | vauthors =  | title = Final report of the amended safety assessment of Dioscorea Villosa (Wild Yam) root extract | journal = International Journal of Toxicology | volume = 23 | issue = Suppl 2 | pages = 49–54 | year = 2004 | pmid = 15513824 | doi = 10.1080/10915810490499055 | s2cid = 962216 | doi-access = free }}</ref> ''[[Dioscorea polygonoides]]'' has been found to contain 2.64% diosgenin as shown by [[gas chromatography-mass spectrometry]].<ref name="Nino-2007">{{cite journal | title = Diosgenin quantification by HPLC in a Dioscorea polygonoides tuber collection from colombian flora | year = 2007 | journal = Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society | pages = 1073–1076 | volume = 18 | issue = 5 | doi = 10.1590/S0103-50532007000500030 |vauthors=Niño J, Jiménez DA, Mosquera OM, Correa YM | doi-access = free | s2cid = 95193700 }}</ref> Many of the ''Dioscorea'' species that originate from the yam family grow in countries that have tropical and subtropical climates.<ref name="Myoda-2005">{{Cite journal | title = Properties of starches in yam (Dioscorea spp.) tuber | year = 2005 | journal = Current Topics in Food Science and Technology | pages = 105–114 | isbn = 81-308-0003-9 |vauthors=Myoda T, Nagai T, Nagashima T }}</ref>