Microbial hydroxylation of epiandrosterone by Aspergillus candidus

In this work, Aspergillus candidus MRC 22634 converted epiandosterone 1 into 10 hydroxylated metabolites. A. candidus has been shown to hydroxylate 1 predominantly at C-11α, C-1α, and C-15β with minor hydroxylations occurring at C-14α and C-7α. Oxidation at C-3, reduction at C-17, and C-3 epimerization of some of the remaining substrate have also been shown. 15β-Hydroxylation and C-3 epimerization of 1 by a fungus were reported for the first time. Two of the metabolites, 1α,3α-dihydroxy-5α-androstan-17-one 4 and 15β,17β-dihydroxy-5α-androstan-3-one 7, were identified as new compounds.