Biotransformation of Steroids: History, Current Status, and Future Prospects

Spreading of new diseases has elevated the need to synthesis novel derivatives from currently used drugs. Corticosteroidal drugs are potent drugs that are involved in treating different diseases, and their market is expected to witness continuous growth due to the emergence of new diseases as COVID-19 and spread of chronic diseases. Therefore, continuous efforts are made to synthesis and construct new steroidal analogues showing potency and reduced side effects. Biotransformation can achieve this in an ecofriendly and efficient way. Different microorganisms can be used in a biotransformation process depending on their produced enzymes, which attack the structure of the chemical substrate in a highly specific way resulting in the production of new analogues. Out of different microorganisms used for this purpose, fungi are attracting extra attention. Hence, in this review, we described chemical structure of steroids to show how biotransformation can affect their structure. Moreover, we highlighted history of microbial transformation of steroids, types of biotransformations, and different techniques used using whole viable cells, spores, immobilized cells, or enzymes focusing on fungal enzymes involved in steroids biotransformation. We also highlighted the role of the genus Cunninghamella as a biotechnological tool in steroid biotransformation. Finally, future prospects concerning steroid fungal biotransformation were discussed.