The present invention provides 4-nitro-.DELTA..sup.4 -3-ketosteroids, their use as steroid C.sub.17-20 lyase and 5.alpha.-reductase inhibitors and to a novel process for preparing a compound of the formula: ##STR1## comprising sequentially: a) reacting a starting compound of the formula ##STR2## with an effective amount of a strong base at an elevated or suitable temperature for a time sufficient to create the corresponding thermodynamic dienolate, followed by addition of a neutral nitrating agent to produce the 4-nitrosteroid; and then; b) reacting the 4-nitrosteroid with a suitable reducing agent.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a division of U.S. Ser. No. 09/010,974, filed Jan. 22, 1998, which is a divisional of Ser. No. 08/737,031, filed Feb. 11, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,750,744, which is a CIP of Ser. No. 08/231,433, filed May 2, 1994 now abandoned, and a U.S. Chapter 2 filing of PCT/US95/04399 which has an effective filing date of Apr. 11, 1995.
