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Biotransformation of Terpenoids and Steroids

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Natural Products

Abstract

Terpenoids, the largest family of natural products with more than 40,000 structures, refer to a large class of oxygen-containing terpene analogues that can be found in all classes of living things. Similar to terpenes, they are all derived from five-carbon isoprene units assembled and modified in different ways. Steroids, derived from terpenoid building block isopentenyl pyrophosphate, are a subclass of terpenoids that contain a characteristic arrangement of four cycloalkane rings joined to each other. The terpenoids in plant are widely recognized, conceptually and/or empirically, for their aromatic qualities and important roles in traditional herbal remedies, also in biomaterials and biofuels. The steroid hormones in animals are often drugs that not only increase protein synthesis in vivo but also control androgenic and virilizing properties. In this chapter, we will describe their properties and classes and functions, biosynthesis and biotransformation and degradation, as well as corresponding enzymes and genes.

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Abbreviations

CYP11A:

Cytochrome P450, family 11, subfamily A

DHEA:

Dehydroepiandrosterone

DMAPP:

Dimethylallyl pyrophosphate

DOXP:

1-Deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate

EDCs:

Endocrine-disrupting compounds

FPP:

Farnesyl diphosphate

GGPP:

Geranylgeranlyl diphosphate

GPP:

Geranyl diphosphate

HMBDP:

1-Hydroxy-2-methyl-2-(E)-butenyl 4-diphosphate

IPP:

Isopentenyl pyrophosphate

MAD:

Mevalonate-dependent

MEP:

2-C-Methyl-D-erythritol-4-phosphate

MVA:

Mevalonate

OCs:

Oral contraceptives

RI:

Refractive index

SREBP:

Sterol regulatory element-binding proteins 1 and 2

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© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Tong, WY. (2013). Biotransformation of Terpenoids and Steroids. In: Ramawat, K., Mérillon, JM. (eds) Natural Products. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22144-6_122

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