The prostaglandins are a group of hormone-like substances which may be viewed as derivatives of prostanoic acid. Several prostaglandins are found widely distributed in mammalian tissue and have been isolated from this source. These prostaglandins have been shown to possess a variety of biological properties such as broncho-dilation and the ability to reduce gastric secretion.
The present invention concerns PGE.sub.1 and PGE.sub.2 derivatives in which the 11-position (using the prostanoic acid numbering system) is a methylene group, i.e. the 11-hydroxyl group normally present in PGE.sub.1 and PGE.sub.2 has been removed and is replaced with hydrogen. The preparation of the parent molecules of this series, 11-deoxy-PGE.sub.1 and 11-deoxy-PGE.sub.2, is reported in J. Org. Chem. 38, 951 (1973).