353 3 SYNTHESIS OF( 21-H~)-PRECNENOLONE. V.V. K r i s P r a s a d and Steven 0. F r a n k l i n Department of O b s t e t r i c s and Gynecology, A s i m p l e procedure f o r t h e preparation of 21-3Hpregnenolone using pregnenolone as s t a r t i n g m a t e r i a l i e described. The procedure involved r e m o v a l of t h e C-21-methyl group of t h e s t e r o i d and t h e side-chain w a s reconstructed with 3H -CH3MgI i n two steps: a Grignard reaction followed by oxidation of t h e resulting alcohol. An o v e r a l l yield of 71% w a s achieved.Key words: 3H -Methyliodide, Pregnenolone, G r i g n a r d Reaction