Abstract

 The term steroid pertains to a broad spectrum of molecules with varying physiological roles. More explicitly, they are a class of compounds that are naturally produced in the body of living organisms as well synthetic or semi-synthetic molecules. They have tremendous effects on biochemical processes and thus any aberration from the required physiological range can have potential effects. Moreover, due to the therapeutic potential of steroids for the treatment of a wide range of diseases, many synthetic approaches have been made available to the organic chemist for their synthesis. Most of the steroids that are in use as drugs are still prepared by modifying naturally occurring steroids (partial synthesis). This chapter highlights the biosynthetic pathways of steroids and the approaches to chemically synthesize them because of their biological and synthetic relevance.