ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF 6β, 17α, 21-TRIHYDROXY-6α-METHYL-Δ4-PREGNENE-3,20-DIONE (21-ACETATE) FROM THE URINE OF HUMAN SUBJECTS TREATED WITH 6α-METHYL-17α-ACETOXYPROGESTERONE

Abstract

SUMMARY A new tetrazolium reducing compound, present as a conjugate which could be hydrolysed by β-glucuronidase, has been isolated from the urine of normal men and women and oophorectomized-adrenalectomized women, all of whom had received 100 mg./day 6α-methyl-17α-acetoxyprogesterone (MAP) either subcutaneously or orally. Detailed studies of its characteristics, including degradation reactions, ultraviolet and infrared spectra, combined with studies on known steroids, suggest that the new compound is 6β,17α,21-trihydroxy-6α-methyl-Δ4-pregnene-3,20-dione (21-acetate). It is suggested that MAP in vivo undergoes hydroxylation at C-21 in the absence of ovarian and adrenal tissue which up to the present have been considered essential for this metabolic process.