Abstract
3β, 20β-Diacetoxy-8, 9-seco-5α-pregnane-8, 9, 11-trione (4) has been prepared from 3β, 20β-diacetoxy-5α-pregnan-12-one (1) via keto-glycol (3). Alumina catalyzed condensation of trione (4) furnished 3β, 20β-diacetoxy-11β-hydroxy-9 (8→7), 8 (9→11)-diabeo-5α, 7ξ, 14α-pregnane-8, 9-dione (5), the structure of which was determined by chemical and physical means. The plausible stereochemistry of the compound has been proposed mainly on the basis of chemical behaviors.
