Putative intermediates of cardenolide biosynthesis, namely progesterone, pregnenolone, 5β-pregnane-3,20-dione or 5β-pregnan-3β-ol-20-one, were administered to light- or darkgrown shoot cultures of Digitalis lanata. The unsaturated com pounds were reduced to their respective 5 a-pregnanes, 5β-pregnane-3,20-dione was reduced to 5β-pregnan-3α-ol-20-one and 5β-pregnan-3β-ol-20-one was isomerized to the respective 3α-pregnane. Suspension cultures of Digitalis lanata, on the other hand, accumulated both the 3α- and the 3β-isom er of 5β-pregnan-3-ol-20-one when incubated in the presence of 5β-pregnane- 3.20-dione. When 5β-pregnan-3α-ol-20-one was administered the cultured cells accumulated large amounts of the 3β-isomer together with small amounts of 5β-pregnane-3,20-dione, which may be regarded as an intermediate during the isomerization reaction. Cell-free, buffered extracts from light-grown shoots were shown to reduce 5β-pregnane- 3.20-dione almost exclusively to 5β-pregnan-3α-ol-20-one when 0.05 m MgCl2 were present in the incubation mixture. Under these conditions the formation of 5β-pregnan-3β-ol-20-one was inhibited. The enzyme activity could be recovered from m em brane-free supernatants. Optimum enzyme activity occurred at pH 7.0 and 42 °C. The energy of activation was 56.2 kJ/mol and the enzyme reaction was found to be NADPH -dependent. SH reagents were essential for enzyme activity. The enzyme seems to be specific for 5β-pregnan-3-ones since neither 5 a-pregnane-3-ones nor Δ4/Δ5-pregnenes were reduced. The NADPH : 5β-pregnane 3α-hydroxysteroid-5β-oxidoreductase described here may play a role in the regulation of cardenolide biosynthesis by removing precursors, such as 5β-pregnane-3,20-dione, from the pathway