Hydroxylation of Progesterone and Its Derivatives by the Entomopathogenic Strain Isaria farinosa KCh KW1.1

Progesterone biotransformation is worth studying because of the high industrial value of its derivatives. This study investigated the catalytic ability of the entomopathogenic filamentous fungus strain Isaria farinosa KCh KW1.1 to transform progesterone derivatives: 11 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, 16 alpha,17 alpha-epoxyprogesterone and pregnenolone. In the culture of Isaria farinosa KCh KW1.1, 11 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone was effectively transformed into only one product: 6 beta,11 alpha-dihydroxyprogesterone. Transformation of 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone gave three hydroxy derivatives: 6 beta,17 alpha-dihydroxyprogesterone, 12 beta,17 alpha-dihydroxyprogesterone and 6 beta,12 beta,17 alpha-trihydroxyprogesterone. Two products: 6 beta-hydroxy-16 alpha,17 alpha-epoxyprogesterone and 6 beta,11 alpha-dihydroxy-16 alpha,17 alpha-epoxyprogesterone, were obtained from the 16 alpha,17 alpha-epoxyprogesterone transformation. We isolated two compounds from the biotransformation medium with pregnenolone: 11 alpha-hydroxy-7-oxopregnenolone and 5 alpha,6 alpha-epoxy-3 beta,11 alpha-dihydroxypregnan-7,20-dione. In this study, we observed only mono- and dihydroxy derivatives of the tested substrates, and the number of obtained products for each biotransformation did not exceed three.

Automated summary

This study found that the entomopathogenic fungus Isaria farinosa KCh KW1.1 can effectively catalyze the transformation of progesterone derivatives and discovered multiple different transformation products. The results of this study have important implications for the industrial application of progesterone.