Diosgenone → Smilagenone

Participants

Reaction Steps

Diosgenone (700 g) was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran (THF) (4500 ml) and inerted with nitrogen. The mixture was treated with activated carbon (35 g) and hydrogenated over 5% Pd—BaSO4 (reduced) (35 g) at 25° C. and 2.5 barg hydrogen. The catalyst was removed by filtration and the mixture concentrated to ca. quarter volume. Water (3000 ml) was added over ca. 30 minutes and the resultant solid filtered. The solid was washed with methanol (560 ml) and dried under vacuum at 40-50° C. to afford smilagenone (630 g, 90%).

Provenance & Evidence