Biotransformation of alkaloids

Abstract

Biotransformations of alkaloids over the last decade have continued to encompass a wide variety of substrates and enzymes. The elucidation of novel alkaloid biosynthetic and catabolic pathways will continue to furnish new biocatalysts for the synthetic organic chemist. Furthermore, an improved understanding of the genetic and biochemical basis of metabolic pathways will also permit the engineering of pathways in plants and other heterologous hosts for the production of therapeutically important alkaloids. The combination of increasing commercial interest and advances in molecular biology will facilitate the availability of robust biocatalysts which are a prerequsite to achieve economically feasible processes for the production of alkaloid-based therapeutics.

Some thoughts on the future of ethnopharmacology

“…If plants are to be effective and reproducible "factories" for the production of medicinal agents for a global population, the molecular switches which control the overall pathway, and the specific enzymes involved in secondary metabolite formation, must be profoundly understood (Boonstra et al, 2001). Biocatalysis, using isolated enzyme systems is another approach to enhance natural product structural diversity, and to conduct reactions which have no parallel in organic synthesis (Rathbone et al, 2002). Less than 20% of all plant species have been evaluated chemically or biologically (Cordell, 2003).…”

Microbial Transformation of Nitrogenous Compounds

“…The techniques and different approaches used in microbial transformations have been mentioned and reviewed by several authors [1,4,11,[13][14][15][16][17]. The compounds can be metabolized by using either different pure enzymes or simply cultivated microbial whole cells [18][19][20][21][22].…”

“…In a recent publication, Wang and coworkers (2005) reported the "green" synthetic process of 6-hydroxy-3-succinoyl-pyridine from S-nicotine in to- 4 Structures of rubijervine and its metabolites [38] bacco waste utilizing whole cells of a Pseudomonas sp. [39].…”

“…Using a standard two-stage fermentation technique, Absidia glauca (ATCC 22752), Cunninghamella blakesleeana (ATCC 8688a), Cun-Scheme 6 Biotransformation of 3α-dihydrocadambine to 16-carbomethoxynaufoline with β-glucosidase in aq. NH 4 OAc [57] ninghamella sp. (NRRL 5695), Fusarium solani f. sp.…”

“…There was a sudden interest in research on the problems of producing steroid hormones by microbial transformation [3]. The biotransformation of alkaloids by microbes and plants has been reviewed by several authors in recent years [1,[4][5][6][7]. The selective use of individual enzymatic transformations utilizing microorganisms in chemical production pathways, in particular by biotransformations of steroids in 1950, expanded the field of biotechnological production of pharmaceuticals [8].…”