Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 9.7
Biocatalysis in the production
of anti-inflammatory steroids.
vinblastine and vincristine obtained from cell cul-
tures of
Catharanthus roseus
[17].
Fig. 9.
8
Production of trimegestrone using bakers' yeast.
to the pharmaceutical industry have been reviewed
recently [14,15]; one particularly promising devel-
opment is the use of plant cells for the production
of target compounds closely related to plant natural
products, exemplified by the conversion of synthetic
precursors to analogues of the podophyllotoxin
family as outlined in Fig. 9.9 [16].
The target compounds in this series of conversions
are analogues of the clinically valuable antineoplas-
tic agent etoposide; other plant cell cultures are used
for the production of a range of pharmaceutical
natural products, including the anti-cancer drugs
2.3 Flavour and fragrance compounds
The impetus for the use of biocatalysis in the pro-
duction of compounds for the food and fragrance
industries is twofold: the necessity for the control of
absolute stereochemistry in the product; and the
possibility that materials produced in this way may
be described as 'natural' rather than 'nature-identi-
cal' and so command the higher price associated with
the former. The use of biological systems for the pro-
duction of flavour compounds by fermentation and
