Progesterone Synthesis

This case study discusses the history of birth control development, particularly progesterone synthesis. Students will learn about how progesterone was synthesized from stigmasterol, a component of soybean oil by Percy Lavon Julian and Carl Djerassi. They will also see how progesterone was made from yams via the Marker degradation. In the assignment, students will work in groups to compare and contrast these three syntheses using green chemistry metrics, and research and present greener conditions for one of the steps to their peers.