Studies on Bacillus stearothermophilus. Part II. Transformation of progesterone

Bacillus stearothermophilus, a thermophilic bacterium isolated from Kuwaiti desert, when incubated with exogenous progesterone for 10 days at 65 degrees C produced two new dihydroxy isomers of progesterone, and two known compounds, 5 alpha-pregnane-3,6,20-trione and 6-dehydroprogesterone, along with the earlier reported monohydroxylated metabolites and a B-Seco compound. The two new dihydroxy compounds were identified as 6 alpha,20 alpha-dihydroxyprogesterone and 6 beta,20 alpha-dihydroxyprogesterone. These metabolites were purified by TLC and HPLC followed by their identification through 1H, 13C NMR and other spectroscopic data.