NATURALLY OCCURRING LIPOIDAL DERIVATIVES OF 3-BETA-HYDROXY-5-PREGNEN-20-ONE - 3BETA-17ALPHA-DIHYDROXY-5-PREGNEN-20-ONE AND 3BETA-HYDROXY-5-ANDROSTEN-17-ONE

Three steroids have been found to be present in extracts of bovine adrenals as non-polar lipoidal derivatives. The three steroids are: 3β-hydroxy-5-pregnen-20-one, 3β,17α-dihydroxy-5-pregnen-20-one and 3β-hydroxy-5-androsten-17-one. The exact nature of the lipoidal derivatives are as yet unknown but they are less polar than the free compounds and they are converted to the above mentioned steroids by treatment with alkali. Chromatographic analysis on florisil of the non-polar extract containing the lipoidal derivatives resulted in the detection of at least 3 different classes of lipoidal derivatives of 3β-hydroxy-5-pregnen-20-one. Only one of these classes, the most polar, co-chromatographs with that class biosynthesized in vitro from radioactive 3β-hydroxy-5-pregnen-20-one. © 1979.