Abstract
AbstractArachidonic acid derivatives such as prostaglandins, thromboxanes, leukotrienes and prostacyclin have been recognized to have significant pharmaceutical potential. Presently they are not available commercially in large amounts because their low concentrations in living tissues and multiple asymmetric carbon centers make the cost of their extraction or chemical synthesis prohibitively expensive. However, the theoretical feasibility of the commercial production of such C‐20 compounds by means of fermentative and enzyme engineering processes that bypass animal sources entirely has been demonstrated. The precursor, arachidonic acid, is present in microorganisms adaptable to large‐scale fermentation. For the purpose of this study, a model describing changes in arachidonic acid production by the red alga,Porphyridium cruentum, in response to induced lipogenesis and variation of light intensity and temperature was developed. In addition, the demonstration that immobilized microsomes containing prostaglandin synthetase activity in a stable amphiphilic gel eliminates the need for the expensive and time‐consuming enzyme recovery methods used previously. Furthermore, the ability of a leguminous enzyme to catalyze the synthesis of prostaglandin indicates that low cost catalysts and precursors of plant origin are available for the synthesis of such compounds.
Published Version
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