Biotransformation on nitazoxanide by filamentous fungi - a microbial model to mammalian metabolism

Filamentous fungi exhibit a complex morphology and can display various shapes depending on the species and environment. These characteristics serve as advantages in biotransformation studies by allowing substances to undergo processes that lead to the production of both existing metabolites and new...

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Main Authors: Julia Medeiros Sorrentino, Rafaela Martins Sponchiado, Fábio de Souza Barbosa, Joanna Wittckind Manoel, Ilana Saute Glock Slub, Victoria Raabe, Tiago Franco de Oliveira, Martin Steppe
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul 2025-07-01
Series:Drug Analytical Research
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Online Access:https://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/dar/article/view/145722
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author Julia Medeiros Sorrentino
Rafaela Martins Sponchiado
Fábio de Souza Barbosa
Joanna Wittckind Manoel
Ilana Saute Glock Slub
Victoria Raabe
Tiago Franco de Oliveira
Martin Steppe
author_facet Julia Medeiros Sorrentino
Rafaela Martins Sponchiado
Fábio de Souza Barbosa
Joanna Wittckind Manoel
Ilana Saute Glock Slub
Victoria Raabe
Tiago Franco de Oliveira
Martin Steppe
author_sort Julia Medeiros Sorrentino
collection DOAJ
description Filamentous fungi exhibit a complex morphology and can display various shapes depending on the species and environment. These characteristics serve as advantages in biotransformation studies by allowing substances to undergo processes that lead to the production of both existing metabolites and new compounds with potential pharmacological activity. In this regard, the biotransformation of drugs using microorganisms emerges as an economical and ecologically viable strategy for modifying the structures of biologically active compounds, studying the metabolism of molecules, and eliminating or reducing their toxicity. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the biotransformation capacity of the drug nitazoxanide by the endophytic fungi Aspergillus niger ATCC 9029 and Cunninghamella elegans ATCC 9245. High-performance liquid chromatography was employed to monitor metabolite formation, while ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with sequential mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF/MS) was utilized to identify these metabolites. After an incubation period of 240 hours, nitazoxanide was transformed into two metabolites by C. elegans. A. niger demonstrated a consumption rate of 94.17% for nitazoxanide, with two additional metabolites identified. This study highlights the potential of using fungi both as a model for metabolism and as a means of producing metabolites on a larger scale, while also identifying a new and significant area of application for the biotransformation approaches involving filamentous fungi.
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publishDate 2025-07-01
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spelling doaj-art-5b8f95acb0044756b03a0698c0df3e2d2025-08-20T02:39:02ZengUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do SulDrug Analytical Research2527-26162025-07-019110.22456/2527-2616.145722Biotransformation on nitazoxanide by filamentous fungi - a microbial model to mammalian metabolismJulia Medeiros Sorrentino0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0803-8225Rafaela Martins Sponchiado1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4824-2247Fábio de Souza Barbosa2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6796-1437Joanna Wittckind Manoel3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1239-9544Ilana Saute Glock Slub4Victoria Raabe5Tiago Franco de Oliveira6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2594-8415Martin Steppe7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2053-6350Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, BrazilPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, BrazilPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, BrazilPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, BrazilFaculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, BrazilFaculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, BrazilPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre - RS, BrazilPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre Filamentous fungi exhibit a complex morphology and can display various shapes depending on the species and environment. These characteristics serve as advantages in biotransformation studies by allowing substances to undergo processes that lead to the production of both existing metabolites and new compounds with potential pharmacological activity. In this regard, the biotransformation of drugs using microorganisms emerges as an economical and ecologically viable strategy for modifying the structures of biologically active compounds, studying the metabolism of molecules, and eliminating or reducing their toxicity. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the biotransformation capacity of the drug nitazoxanide by the endophytic fungi Aspergillus niger ATCC 9029 and Cunninghamella elegans ATCC 9245. High-performance liquid chromatography was employed to monitor metabolite formation, while ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with sequential mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF/MS) was utilized to identify these metabolites. After an incubation period of 240 hours, nitazoxanide was transformed into two metabolites by C. elegans. A. niger demonstrated a consumption rate of 94.17% for nitazoxanide, with two additional metabolites identified. This study highlights the potential of using fungi both as a model for metabolism and as a means of producing metabolites on a larger scale, while also identifying a new and significant area of application for the biotransformation approaches involving filamentous fungi. https://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/dar/article/view/145722nitazoxanidebiotransformationAspergillus nigerCunninghamella elegansmetabolites
spellingShingle Julia Medeiros Sorrentino
Rafaela Martins Sponchiado
Fábio de Souza Barbosa
Joanna Wittckind Manoel
Ilana Saute Glock Slub
Victoria Raabe
Tiago Franco de Oliveira
Martin Steppe
Biotransformation on nitazoxanide by filamentous fungi - a microbial model to mammalian metabolism
Drug Analytical Research
nitazoxanide
biotransformation
Aspergillus niger
Cunninghamella elegans
metabolites
title Biotransformation on nitazoxanide by filamentous fungi - a microbial model to mammalian metabolism
title_full Biotransformation on nitazoxanide by filamentous fungi - a microbial model to mammalian metabolism
title_fullStr Biotransformation on nitazoxanide by filamentous fungi - a microbial model to mammalian metabolism
title_full_unstemmed Biotransformation on nitazoxanide by filamentous fungi - a microbial model to mammalian metabolism
title_short Biotransformation on nitazoxanide by filamentous fungi - a microbial model to mammalian metabolism
title_sort biotransformation on nitazoxanide by filamentous fungi a microbial model to mammalian metabolism
topic nitazoxanide
biotransformation
Aspergillus niger
Cunninghamella elegans
metabolites
url https://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/dar/article/view/145722
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