URINARY ALPHA-KETOLIC STEROID METABOLITES OF CORTICAL HORMONES ADMINISTERED TO SUBJECTS WITH ADRENAL CORTICAL INSUFFICIENCY 1

Abstract

The analysis of urinary excretory products following the administration of known compounds is one of the classical methods for the study of their metabolism. The developments inpaper chromatographic (1) and micro-analytic (2) technics and the use of glucuronidase hydrolysis (3) have considerably decreased the difficulties of investigating steroid metabolism by this method. Using these newer technics, we have studied the urinary excretion pattern of the major alpha-ketolic steroids after the administration of the six active adrenal cortical steroids to individuals with severe adrenal cortical insufficiency. We have found, as has been demonstrated for other steroids (4), that the major alpha-ketolic metabolites result from the reduction in ring A of the steroid nucleus to the 3-alpha-hydroxy pregnane derivatives (the socalled tetrahydro form) and that the hydroxyl and ketone groups on carbon atom 11 are interconvertible for corticosterone and 1 1-dehydrocorticosterone as well as for hydrocortisone and cortisone.