Journal of Steroids & Hormonal Science

Recent Advances in Steroid Drugs through Microbial Biotransformation

Sara Williams^{* *}Correspondence: Sara Williams, Editorial office, Journal of Steroids and Hormonal Science, Belgium, Email:

Author info »

Introduction

Steroidal substances are terpenoid lipids with a carbon structure including four basal rings organised in a 6-6-6-5 pattern. Steroidal compounds have a wide range of physiological actions that are dependent on the functional groups connected to the rings as well as the oxidation state of the rings. Animals, plants, and microbes all have thousands of different steroidal chemicals. Cholesterol, cholic acid, testosterone, androsterone, progesterone, estrone/oestrone (E1), estradiol (E2), Androstenedione (AD), Androstadienedione (ADD) in all vertebrates, ecdysterone in insects, diosgenin extracted from the tubers of Dioscorea wild yam, and sitosterol widely distributed in the plant kingdom. The cyclization of the triterpene squalene produces most natural steroidal molecules. To put it another way, squalene is the biological precursor to the entire steroid family.

Adrenal cortical hormones/cortin for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, erythromelalgia, bronchitis, asthma, eczema, anaphylactic shock, various collagenous diseases, and Addison's disease, steroidal sex hormones for the treatment of male sexual organ dysfunctions and gynecopathies and contraception, and protein anabolic hormones for the treatment of protein anabo After bioconversion, structural changes in steroid medicines can cause significant changes in physicochemical and pharmacological qualities such as bioactivity, solubility, absorption, and duration of action.

The interaction of steroid hormones with their respective nuclear receptors, which serve as transcription factors to influence target gene expression, is thought to constitute the true mechanism of steroid hormones.

However, increasing evidence suggested that some steroids(neurosteroids) synthesised by glial cells, such as Dehydroepiandrosterone(DHEA) and Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulphate (DHEAS), progesterone,pregnenolone, and their sulphate derivatives, 17-estradiol, allopregnanolone,and synthetic alphaxolone and ganaxolone.

The announcement of the pharmacological effects of cortisol and progesterone (two endogenous steroids), as well as the identification of the 11 alpha hydroxylation of a Rhizopus species and the breakthrough in the practical synthesis of progesterone with effective biological activity, sparked the competitive worldwide research and development of steroid drugs in the 1950s. Steroid medications, which currently number around 300, have overtaken antibiotics as the second most popular medical product category.

Over the last half-century, many microbial biotransformations of steroidal substances have been documented, including steroid dehydrogenation/ reduction, hydroxylation, and oxidation.

All carbon atoms of the four basal rings, save C10 and 13, undergo esterification, halogenation, methoxylation, isomerization, acylation, and hydrolyzation/side-chain breakage. The metacleavage pathway (degradation of steroidal compounds from the A ring) was initially described by. The biotransformation of microbes in the environment.

Over the last half-century, many microbial biotransformations of steroidal substances have been documented, including steroid dehydrogenation/ reduction, hydroxylation, and oxidation.

The manufacture of steroid medications has proven to be one of the most successful large-scale industrial operations with benefits such as increased specificity and conversion a faster reaction rate, more moderate reaction conditions, and lower chemical pollution resulting from chemical synthesis in the manufacture of steroid medications.

There are now two basic pathways for industrial steroid drug manufacturing. The diosgenin method and the microbiological transformation approach are both viable options. Diosgenin, hecogenin, cholesterol, stigmasterol, bile acids, solanum alkaloids, and other alternative sources of steroid precursors for the production of steroid drugs include diosgenin, hecogenin, cholesterol, stigmasterol, bile acids, and so on, with diosgenin accounting for about 70% of the total. Because of the increased use of oral contraceptives (OCs) for birth control, the demand for steroid medicines and steroid precursors appears to be on the rise. However, it is important to highlight that steroid usage can result in serious health problems such as liver cancer, heart attacks, and excessive cholesterol levels in both males and females, especially in athletes seeking to improve their performance.