A ready synthesis of 5α,14β-cholest-7-en-3β-ol

Abstract
Reduction of 3β-acetoxy-8α,14α-epoxy-5α-cholestan-7-one or 3β-acetoxy-5α-cholest-8(14)-en-7-one with zinc dust in methanolic N-sulphuric acid yields 3β-acetoxy-5α,14β-cholest-7-ene with minor amounts of 3β-acetoxy-5α,14β-cholestan-7-one, and constitutes a novel, simple synthesis of 14β-steroids.