Biotransformation of (-)-α-Santonin by Aspergillus parasiticus and Antimicrobial Efficacy of the Transformed Products

Biotransformation of (-)-α-santonin using Aspergillus parasiticus resulted in the production of 3,4-epoxy-α-santonin, 4,5-dihydro-α-santonin and 1,2-dihydro-α-santonin and 3 minor products and the biological activity of the transformed products was established by antibacterial & antifungal assays. 3,4-epoxy-α-santonin exhibited higher degree of antibacterial and antifungal activity. 4,5-dihydro-α-santonin showed slight increase in the activity, compared to (-)-α-Santonin. 1,2-dihydro-α-santonin is equipotent to the substrate ( (-)-α-Santonin ). This is the first report on the Biotransformation of (-)-α-Santonin by Aspergillus parasiticus and evaluation of the biological activities of the biotransformed products.