Physiologic disposition of 4-c¹⁴-tetrahydrocortisol in man

The steroid 4-C¹⁴-tetrahydrocortisol was prepared by an enzymatic technique and was administered to 5 normal males. Four of them received the compound intravenously, while the 5th subject received it orally. Urine was collected 0-6, 6-24 and 2448 hr after steroid administration. The glucuronide fraction of each of the urine samples was studied for the following compounds: tetrahydrocortisol, tetrahydrocortisone, allotetrahydrocortisol, cortol, cortolone and 11-oxygenated 17-ketosteroids. It was noted that, in the 0-6 hr sample, tetrahydrocortisol represented approximately 80% of the total glucuronide fraction, whereas in the 24-48 hr sample it represented only 10% of the radioactivity in the glucuronide fraction. Conversely, the amounts of tetrahydrocortisone, cortol, cortolone, and 11-oxygenated 17-ketosteroids increased relative to the amounts of total glucuronides. The main steroid excreted on the 2nd day was 11β-hydroxyetiocholano-lone. The conversion of tetrahydrocortisol to tetrahydrocortisone was confirmed but represented less than 2 % of the injected dose. No radioactive 5α-hydrogen compound could be detected.