Ephedrine
biotransformation reactions were performed using strain Cunninghamellaelegans in order to obtain products similar to human metabolism products. The
choice of strains used was based on previous literature review which identified
the species Cunninghamella elegans as
promising due to their phenotypic characteristics, such as expressing
Oxidoreductases enzymes that are necessary
for carrying out the oxidation and reduction reactions in the side chain of the
molecule ephedrine, in addition to expressing monooxygenases enzymes cytochrome
P450 superfamily, which in humans were found in the lipid bilayer of hepatocytes and were responsible for the hydroxylation process of
substances. Therefore, it was performed experiments with strains of Cunninghamella elegans acquired by the
mycology collection of the Federal University of Pernambuco, originating from
different ecosystems. From screening step, it selected URM 4428 strain to present better
profile biocatalytic to ephedrine. The results demonstrate the gradual formation
of bioproducts in reversible character, and the reduction of bioproducts accompanied
by the recovery of the substrate. To our knowledge, there are not previous scientific literature
focusing the biotransformation of ephedrine by fungi, which demonstrates the
uniqueness specific to our research and presents C. elegans, as a promising auxiliary tool in the exploration and
understanding of the metabolism of amphetamine-type drugs in humans.
Cite this paper
Fogaca, R. F. H. , Bergamo, V. Z. , Zamboni, A. , Reis, M. D. , Borile, B. T. , Santos, M. K. D. , Mezzari, A. and Limberger, R. P. (2017). Biotransformation of Ephedrine by Whole Cells of Cunnighamella elegans. Open Access Library Journal, 4, e3279. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1103279.
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