Microbial Metabolism of Pseudoprotodioscin

Abstract

Microbial transformation of the furostanol saponin pseudoprotodioscin (1) using Aspergillus fumigatus resulted in the isolation of two new steroidal metabolites, 3-O-[bis-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2 and 1→4)-β-D-glucopyranosyl]-22R,25R-spirost-5-ene-3β,20α-diol (2) and 3-O-[bis-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2 and 1→4)-β-D-glucopyranosyl]-25R-furost-5-ene-3β,22α,26-triol (3), in addition to the previously reported steroidal saponins: dioscin (4) and progenin II (5). The structure elucidation of these metabolites was based primarily on 1D and 2D NMR analyses. Metabolites 2 - 5 showed significant cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines A375, L929, and HeLa with IC₅₀ values ranging from 1.18 μM to 17.88 μM.

Key words

Dioscorea panthaica - Dioscoreaceae - pseudoprotodioscin - microbial metabolism - cytotoxicity

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