Determination of the number of oxygen substituents of steroids by chromatography

Abstract

ΔR_m values obtained by difference of R_m values in the presence and absence of formaldehyde are shown to group in a manner determined by the number of polar functional groups and, to a lesser degree, by the nature of the steroid skeleton. It is proposed that determination of the ΔR_m value provides a means of characterising steroids from natural sources.