Steroid hormones oestranes

Several groups are included in this class of steroids including corticosteroids, pregnanes, androstanes and oestranes. Extensive reviews on the chromatography of these compounds have been previously published (Heftman, 1983 Heftman and Lin, 1982 Purdy et al, 1982 O Hare and Nice, 1982 Schmidt, 1982). It is not the purpose of this section to provide a comprehensive review of the Uterature but to provide the potential chromatographer with a number of alternative strategies for the separation and detection of the various steroid hormones. For ease of reference the individual classes of steroid hormones have been separated into individual sub-sections. 

Arthropod Sterols.—The absence of sterol biosynthesis has been observed in further examples from the class ArachnidaT The conversion of /5-sitosterol back to cholesterol was demonstrated in bees and in locusts/ where it was shown that fucosterol, but not 24-methylenecholesterol, was probably a precursor of desmosterol and cholesterol. Some interconversions of pregnane, andros-tane, and oestrane steroids have been examined in the cricket.The stages in the oxidation of the side-chain of ecdysone hormones have been studied in several species. In Calliphora, the sequence of oxidation seems to be hydroxylation at C-25, C-22,and C-20 i.e. (115)— (116)— (117)— (118). The last step, conversion... 

Other steroids not possessing a methyl group are the C-18 steroids, derivatives of oestrane. The most interesting of these are the oestrogenic hormones in which ring A is a benzene ring (e.g. oestrone). 

Estradiol is the actual ovarian follicular hormone. It is a colourless steroid, slightly soluble in water, but freely soluble in organic solvents. Chemically, it is the 3 4-dihydroxy derivative of oestrane, or 13-methyl cydo-pentano phenanthrene, the mono-methylated steroid nucleus which occurs in all the natural oestrogens (p. 172). (Estrone and oestiiol represent various oxidation... 

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