Biotransformation of Terpenoids and Steroids

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.