No abstract

A screening was performed using nine marine-derived fungi as biocatalysts and the natural products (-)-ambrox® (1), (-)-sclareol (2), and (+)-sclareolide (3) in order to select the microorganisms able to catalyze the biooxidation of these compounds. It was observed that only the Aspergillus sydowii CBMAI 934, Botryosphaeria sp., Eutypella sp., and Xylaria sp. presented active oxidoreductases and catalyzed the regioselective hydroxylation in the natural products. The hydroxylated metabolites obtained were 1β-hydroxy-ambrox (1a) (14%, A. sydowii CBMAI 934); 3β-hydroxy-ambrox (1b) (17%, Botryosphaeria sp.; 11%, Eutypella sp.); 3β-hydroxy-sclareol (2a) (31%, Xylaria sp.; 69%, Botryosphaeria sp.; 55%, Eutypella sp.); 18-hydroxy-sclareol (2b) (10%, Xylaria sp.); and 3β-hydroxy-sclareolide (3a) (34%, Botryosphaeria sp.; 7%, Eutypella sp.). This is the first report of biohydroxylation of (-)-ambrox® (1), (-)-sclareol (2), and (+)-sclareolide (3) by whole mycelia of marine-derived fungi.

No abstract

The three ayurvedic medicinal plants, Withania somnifera, Emblica officinalis, and Bacopa monnieri, were extracted by high-pressure static extraction using the Zippertex(®) technology. The extracts were mixed to reach quantifiable amounts of active compounds identified by high-pressure liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) analysis. The mixture of extracts was incubated with resting cells of the fungus Beauveria bassiana ATCC 7159. The fermentation promoted the fluidization of the starting dense mixture, while HPLC monitoring evidenced the disappearance of glucogallin from E. officinalis extract and the concomitant increase in gallic acid content. Topical exposure of the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) to the nonfermented extract led to the extensive necrosis and destruction of the treated membrane. However, the fermented extract was shown to be free of any toxicity. Furthermore, compared with the untreated CAM, the fermented sample reduced CAM vascularization, suggesting its antiangiogenic potency. The innocuity of the fermented extract was demonstrated using the in vivo LD50 test, the morphological examination of internal organs of treated rats, as well as the evaluation of blood biomarkers of liver damage (aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase). The fermented extract was developed as a nutraceutical antiangiogenic treatment of age-related macular degeneration and commercialized in an oral form named Ethnodyne-Visio™.