Bioconversion of meloxicam by bacteria

Bioconversion of an anti-inflammatory drug meloxicam was investigated by employing twelve bacterial strains representing six genera. Among the bacterial cultures screened, Bacillus subtilis MTCC 441 and Pseudomonas putida NCIM 2782 could transform meloxicam to 5-hydroxy methyl meloxicam. Whereas, other bacterial cultures under study failed to transform meloxicam. The progress of the transformation was confirmed by HPLC, and based on LC-MS data and previous reports, the metabolite was predicted to be 5-hydroxy methyl meloxicam.