Abstract
Degradation of 17, 21-dihydroxy-20-ketone side-chain of cortisol by lens homo-genate was investigated and a fairly active degradation of adrenocortical steroid in the lens was verified. The assay system required the addition of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. Optimal pH, optimal temperature and the optimal medium composition for activity were also determined. The degradation product of corti-sol after loss of the side-chain was identified to be 11β-hydroxyandrost-4-ene-3, 17-dione by paper chromatography and scanning method using cortisol-4-14C as substrate.
