title: Biotransformation of artemisinin by Aspergillus niger.
abstract: Biotransformation of artemisinin (1) by Aspergillus niger was investigated. During 12 days at 28 °C and pH 6.0, A. niger transformed artemisinin into four products. They were identified as 3β-hydroxy-4,12-epoxy-1-deoxyartemisinin (2), artemisinin G (3), 3,13-epoxyartemisinin (4), and 4α-hydroxy-1-deoxyartemisinin (5). Products 2 and 4 are new compounds and are being reported here for the first time. The product 4 contains a 3,13-epoxy structure. This is the first report of epoxidation of artemisinin using microbial strains. The product 4 still has an intact peroxide bridge and therefore can be used as a scaffold for further structural modification using chemical and biological methods in the search for new antimalarial drugs.
authors.affiliation: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin, 541004, People's Republic of China, zhanyulian@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Yulian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yunshan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Pingying
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Zhencheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: John S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Williamson
mesh_terms: D037621:Artemisinins / Q000378:metabolism*; D001234:Aspergillus niger / Q000378:metabolism*; D001711:Biotransformation; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D037621:Artemisinins; C031327:artemisinin