Biotransformation of Khellin to Khellol by Aspergillus Niger and the Evaluation of their Biological Activities

Abstract

Biotransformation of khellin using Aspergillus niger ATCC 10549 resulted in the production of khellol. The biological activities of the transformed product and khellin were established by antioxidant and acetylcholine esterase in- hibitory assays. Khellol exhibited a higher degree of antioxidant and acetylcholine esterase inhibitory activities compared to khellin. This is the first report on the biotransformation of khellin by microorganisms and the first evaluation of the neuroprotective activity of either khellin or khellol.