Biotransformation of ephedrine by whole cells of Cunnighamella elegans

Ephedrine biotransformation reactions were performed using strain Cunninghamella elegans in order to obtain products similar to human metabolism products. The choice of strains used was based on previous literature review which identified the species Cunninghamella elegans as promising due to their phenotypic characteristics, such as expressing Oxidoreductases enzymes that are necessary for carrying out the oxidation and reduction reactions in the side chain of the molecule ephedrine, in addition to expressing monooxygenases enzymes cytochrome P450 superfamily, which in humans were found in the lipid bilayer of hepatocytes and were responsible for the hydroxylation process of substances. Therefore, it was performed experiments with strains of Cunninghamella elegans acquired by the mycology collection of the Federal University of Pernambuco, originating from different ecosystems. From screening step, it selected URM 4428 strain to present better profile biocatalytic to ephedrine. The results demonstrate the gradual formation of bioproducts in reversible character, and the reduction of bioproducts accompanied by the recovery of the substrate. To our knowledge, there are not previous scientific literature focusing the biotransformation of ephedrine by fungi, which demonstrates the uniqueness specific to our research and presents C. elegans , as a promising auxiliary tool in the exploration and understanding of the metabolism of amphetamine- type drugs in humans