Synthesis of Pregna-1,4,16-triene-3,20-dione from a Mixture of Soybean Phytosterols using a Combination of Chemical and Microbiological Methods

Abstract: In this paper, we present an efficient procedure for the transformation of a soybean phytosterol mixture into pregna-1,4,16-triene-3,20-dione, which is a key intermediate for the synthesis of valuable corticoids. The possibility of using two alternative methods for 1(2)-dehydrogenation of pregna-4,16-diene-3,20-dione - chemical and microbiological - was shown. Microbiological 3-keto-4-ene steroid 1(2)-dehydrogenation was carried out using actinobacterial cells of Nocardioides simplex VKM Ac-2033D. The structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed by the IR, MS, and 1H-NMR methods.