Biotransformation of artemisinic acid by the fungus Trichothecium roseum and anti-candidal activity of its metabolites

AbstractThe microbial transformation of artemisinic acid (1) using cell culture of endophytic fungus Trichothecium roseum was investigated. Previously, we have reported two major metabolites, 3β-hydroxyartemisinic acid (2) and 3β,15-dihydroxyartemisinic acid (3) from the biotransformation of artemisinic acid by the fungus T. roseum CIMAPN1. Here in the present paper, we obtained a new minor compound 4 (5.2% in yield) along with compounds 2 and 3 through scale-up of biotransformation process of artemisinic acid using the same fungus. The structure of compound 4 was established as 3-oxoartemisinic acid on the basis of its IR, ESI-MS, HRMS, 1 D (1H and 13C, DEPT), and 2 D (COSY, HSQC, HMBC) NMR spectral data analysis. The possible reaction mechanism of the formation of 3-oxoartemisinic acid from artemisinic acid was proposed. Furthermore, all the three metabolites along with the artemisinic acid were evaluated for their antifungal activity against the three fungal strains Candida albicans (ATCC 14053), Candi...