By the action of acidic titanium trichloride upon 16-oximino-17 alpha-
benzyl-17 beta-hydroxy derivatives in the androstane and estrane serie
s the 16-oxo-17 beta-benzyl-17 alpha-hydroxy derivatives 6 and 7 with
inversed configuration at C-17 were obtained. A mechanism for this nov
el rearrangement is proposed. (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier Science L
td.