16-(4-Cyanobenzylidene)-3 beta-pyrrolidinoandrost-5-en-17 beta-ol monohydrate

In the title compound, C(31)H(40)N(2)O x H(2)O, the outer two six-membered rings are in chair conformations, while the central ring is in an 8 beta,9 alpha-half-chair conformation. The five-membered ring adopts a 13 beta-envelope conformation and the cyanobenzylidene moiety has an E configuration with respect to the hydroxyl group at position 17. The steroid nuclei are linked by intermolecular O[bond]H...O and O[bond]H...N hydrogen bonds to form a molecular network. The molecular packing has an interesting feature, with the steroids aligned parallel to the b axis, forming a closed loop through hydrogen bonds linked via water molecules.