Microbiologic transformation of progesterone by Curvularia clavata Jain

Progesterone was transformed microbiologically by the fungal strain Curvularia clavata Jain. Progesterone (I) was added as substrate when the microorganism reached its exponential growth phase. Three substances were isolated after the fermentation: a non-steroidal substance, radicinin (II), which has been established to be a metabolic product of the fungus and acts as a phytotoxin, and two steroidal substances which resulted from fungal enzymatic action on the progesterone molecule. The structure of each microbial metabolite was elucidated by 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry, and infrared and UV analyses, and the yields were determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography. The progesterone metabolites were characterized as 7 alpha,14 alpha-dihydroxypregn-4-ene-3,20-dione (III) and 11 beta, 14 alpha-dihydroxypregn-4-ene-3,20-dione (IV). Evidence for the structure of these steroidal products came from derivatives resulting from acetylation and dehydration.