BIOTRANSFORMATION .34. METABOLISM OF TESTOSTERONE ESTERS IN FUNGI CULTURES

Seven esters of testosterone: acetate, propionate, enanthate, caprate, undecanoate, isobutyrate and isocaproate (some of them are used as drugs) were transformed by microorganisms: Absidia coerulea, Acremonium roseum, Aphanocladium album and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa to obtain some information about their metabolism. It was observed that the presence and structure of the acyl group mainly influenced the degree of transformation. The products of the transformations of testosterone and its esters were usually the same. The first step of the reaction was probably hydrolysis of ester, followed by testosterone transformation. Only the branched chain esters were transformed by R. mucilaginosa without hydrolysis of the ester bond.