Indirect analysis of corticosteroids. 3. The determination of steroidal dihydroxyacetones

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Abstract
Zinc powder in boiling aqueous acetic acid effected the reductive removal of (i) the keto group in 4:5-unsaturated 3-oxosteroids, (ii) the 17- and 21-hydroxyl groups in 17 [alpha]:21-dihydroxy-20-oxosteroids, and (iii) the 21-acetoxyl group in 21-acetoxy-17 [alpha]-hydroxy-20-oxosteroids. Among the types of compounds resistant to the action of Zn were 17-ketones, 17:20-diols and 17:20:21-triols. An analytical method based on these findings was developed for the differential estimation of Zn-resistant (17:20-diols and 17:20:21-triols) and Zn-labile (dihydroxyacetones) 17-ketogenic steroids. Urine specimens obtained from men and women in normal health, women in the last trimester of pregnancy, rheumatoid arthritics receiving cortisone acetate or corticotrophin and patients with adrenogenital syndrome were assayed by the analytical method described.