Biotransformation using recombinant microorganisms as a strategy for the production of pharmaceutical compounds

CARDILLO AB; RODRIGUEZ TALOU J; GIULIETTI AM

Workshop; VII Workshop on Biocatalysis and Biotransformations -1 Simposio Latinoamericano de Biocatálisis y Biotransformaciones; 2014

Hyoscyamine, 6B-hydroxyhyoscyamine and scopolamine are tropane alkaloids that were traditionally applied in medicine according to their anticholinergic activity. Hyoscyamine is converted by Hyoscyamine-6b-hydroxylase (H6H) into the most valuable alkaloids, 6B-hydroxyhyoscyamine and scopolamine. Nowadays, these bioactive compounds are obtained from producer plants due to the cost and complexity of their chemical synthesis. For this reason, its production by biotransformation is an attractive strategy for the pharmaceutical industry. In this work we explored the production of tropane alkaloids using recombinant yeast and bacteria harboring the H6H enzyme as biocatalyst.