F rom the tubers of Dioscorea bulbifera L.six steroids were isolated and identified as diosgenin (1), β-sitosterol  (2), stigmasterol (3), daucosterol (4), diosg enin-3-O-α-L-rhamnopy ranosy l (1 →2)-β-D glucopy ranoside(prosapogenin A of dioscin , 5)and diosgenin-3-O-〔di-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1 →2, 1 →3)〕-β-D-glucopy ranoside (taccaoside, 6).T he isolation of saponins and sapogenin from D. bulbi fera will require that the chemotaxonomic definition of steroidal saponins in Dioscorea L. will be readdressed.