Collection of Czechoslovak Chemical Communications - digital archive 

Abstract

Reduction of primary and secondary steroidal alcohols via their mesylates and tosylates with sodium iodide and zinc dust in 1,2-dimethoxyethane is shown to be a mild and simple preparative method for removing the hydroxyl from polyfunctional compounds. It may be successfully applied to substances with an isolated double bond, a keto group, a α-hydroxyketo, α,α'-dihydroxyketo, or α,β-unsaturated keto grouping, an isolated tertiary hydroxyl, an epoxide ring or a nitrile group. All these functions are not affected.