9(11)-Secoestra-11,17-dioic acids and related compounds

While hydrogenations of 2b furnished a mixture in which the rac 14α isomer 8b predominated, the rac lactone 6 was hydrogenolyzed to give the rac 14β diacid 9a. Clemmensen reduction of 6 gave the rac 14α tetrahydro compound 7a. Another route to 8 involved conversion of the d-ketoacid 11b into 23b via the cyanolactone 20b or the amidolactone 21b. Base-catalyzed elimination at 206° yielded the Δ¹⁶ diester 27 which was hydrogenated to 8c. An analogous conversion was also carried out in the ring B reduced series 13 → 20a + 21a → 23a → 25a → 26. In the 14β series, using the same sequence of reactions, the rac ketoacid 10a was transformed into the rac lactone ester 29. In distinction from the 14α series, treatment with alkali at 206° gave only partial elimination, the double bond migrating to the 14,15 position to furnish 2. Evidence is presented that amides of the ketoacid 13a exist in the hydroxylactam form 30 and can be readily O-alkylated to furnish 22. Attempts to aromatize ring B of 13a with DDQ led to lactones 15 and 16, while reaction of the ester 13b with DDQ gave the pentaene 17 and the hexaene 18, establishing that dehydrogenation proceeded stepwise in the sequence Δ⁸, Δ¹⁴ and finally Δ⁶.