N-Benzoyl-N-methylandrostan-17β-amines; 20-Aza Analogues of Brassinolide

Abstract

3β-Hydroxyandrost-5-en-17-one (1) was converted into 17β-(N-methylamino)androst-5-en-3β-ol (4). In the corresponding N-benzamide 5, structural features characteristic of brassinolide were produced in a standard way, i.e. via 3α,5α-cyclo derivatives 7 and 8, ∆2-olefin 9 and 2α,3α-diol 10. Baeyer-Villiger oxidation yielded two products: 2α,3α-dihydroxy-17β-N-(methylbenzamido)-7-oxa-7a-homo-5α-androstan-6-one (11) and 2α,3α-dihydroxy-17β-(N-methylbenzamido)-6-oxa-7a-homo-5α-androstan-7-one (12).