Steroid estrogen conjugates in hens' urine II. identifications of some minor conversion products of intramuscularly injected [4-14c]estrone

4-¹⁴C]Estrone was injected intramuscularly into two mature laying Rhode Island Red hens. Radioactive steroids and steroid conjugates recovered from the urine on Amberlite XAD-2 columns were fractionated on columns (100 cm) of DEAE-Sephadex A-25 by NaCl gradients. The presences of the following were confirmed, the figures in brackets indicating average proportions as per cent of total radioactivity recovered after Sephadex column chromatography: -the 3-β-glucuronides of estrone (10. 9) and of estradiol-17α plus estradiol-17β(9.8); the 17-β-glucuronides of estradiol-17α plus estradiol-17β (2.1); the 3-sulfates of estrone (14. 5) and of estradiol-17α plus estradiol-17β (27. 4); and the disulfates of estradiol-17α plus estradiol-17β (2. 3). The following additional conjugates were identified:-a β-glucuronide of 16-epiestriol (0.2) and a β-glucuronide of 16-ketoestradiol-17β (0. 2); the 3-sulfates of 16-epiestriol (1. 4), of 17-epiestriol (0. 9), of 16, 17-epiestriol (0. 7), of 16-keto-estradiol-17β (1. 1), and of 2-methoxyestrone (0. 7). Some evidence was obtained for the presence of 16, 17-epoxy-estratrienol-3-sulfate (1.9).