Biotransformation of 20(S)-protopanaxatriol by Mucor racemosus and the anti-cancer activities of some products.

Objective: To produce new derivatives of 20(S)-protopanaxatriol by fungal biotransformation.
Result: Biotransformation of 20(S)-protopanaxatriol (1) by Mucor racemosus AS 3.205 afforded six products. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses. M. racemosus could selectively catalyze dehydrogenation at C-12 and further hydroxylation at C-7, C-11, and C-15, as well as rearrangement of double bond at C-26. Two of these new compounds exhibited potent inhibitory activity against SH-SY5Y and HepG2 cell lines.
Conclusion: Biotransformation by M. racemosus AS 3.205 was an effective approach to produce new derivatives of 20(S)-protopanaxatriol.