ARS | Publication request: MICROBIAL PRODUCTION OF HYDROXY FATTY ACIDS

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: October 27, 2000
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: We have been investigating the production of value-added industrial products from vegetable oils and their component fatty acids through biocatalysis. Hydroxy fatty acids are important industrial materials. Recently, several newly discovered hydroxy unsaturated fatty acids were reported to have interesting physiological activity. A new microbial isolate, Clavibacter sp. ALA2. converts linoleic acid to more polar products. The main product was determined as 12,13,17-trihydroxy-9(Z)- octadecenoic acid (THOA). THOA inhibited the growth of several plant pathogenic fungi. It seems that the position of the hydroxy groups on the fatty acid plays an important role in the activity against specific fungi. Strain ALA2 also converted linoleic acid to two tetrahydrofuran- (di)hydroxy fatty acids (GC retention time 10 and 17 minutes). These tetrahydrofuran-hydroxy unsaturated fatty acids were known to have anti cancer activity. Recently, we further isolated and identified two additional products from the crude extract of the ALA2-linoleic acid system. Their structures determined by GC/MS and NMR are: 12,17;13,17- diepoxy-9(Z)-octadecenoic acid (GC Rt 7 minutes) and 7-hydroxy-12,17; 13,17-diepoxy-7-hydroxy-9(Z)-octadecenoic acid (GC Rt 13 minutes). The structure of these diepoxy (bicyclic) unsaturated fatty acids are novel. Relative yield of these five products are THOA: Rt 17: Rt13: Rt 10: Rt7 = 15:1.8:1:3:10. Through biocatalysis, a large quantity of these bioactive polyhydroxy unsaturated fatty acids' products can be obtained.