ABSTRACT ent-Kaurenoic acid (KA) is a tetracyclic diterpene with known hypoglycemic properties and is a key intermediary in the biosynthesis of giberellins. This work presents the results of enzymatic assays using endosperm extracts from Cucurbita pepo and Phaseolus vulgaris in combination with commercial mevalonolactone for the obtainment of ent-kaurene, isokaurene and geranilgeraniol. These metabolites were identified, purified and quantified by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and gas chromatography (GC) coupled to a flame ionization detector (FID). The results demonstrated that the enzymatic system of C. pepo was able to transform 94.5% of mevalonolactone into ent-kaurene (63.9%), geranilgeraniol (18.6%) and isokaurene (11.9%). According to our results, 96.5% of the ent-kaurene obtained by the endosperm systems was converted into KA by the recombinant strain INVSc1+PYESDEST52D+ MtKO of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. KA was detected and quantified by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and the final yield was 0.46 g·L-1. The method for the production of KA described in this work could be considered as an alternative process to obtain ent-kaurenoic acid.
Buy this Article
|