Microbial metabolism studies of the antimalarial sesquiterpene artemisinin

Microbial metabolism of the sesquiterpene lactone antimalarial drug artemisinin [1] was studied. Screening studies have shown a number of microorganisms capable of metabolizing artemisinin [1]. Scale-up fermentation with Nocardia corallina (ATCC 19070) and Penicillium chrysogenum (ATCC 9480) have resulted in the production of two major microbial metabolites that have been characterized with the use of 2D-nmr techniques. These metabolites have been identified as deoxyartemisinin [2] and 3 alpha-hydroxydeoxyartemisinin [3].