coenzyme-q10 and solanesol

Isoprenoids, also known as terpenoids, are the largest and oldest class of natural products known. They are comprised of more than 40,000 different molecules all biosynthetically related via a common five carbon building block (isopentenyl). Many isoprenoids are of commercial interest and are used as fragrances in cosmetics and flavours, colorants and nutritional supplements in foods and feeds as well as being phytomedicines. Their industrial relevance also means they are compounds of high value with global markets in the range of $1 billion per annum. Solanesol is a 45-carbon, unsaturated, all-trans-nonaprenol isoprenoid of high value. Recently this molecule has received particular attention because of its utility, both in its own right and as a precursor in the production of numerous compounds used in the treatment of disease states. Instability in supply and spiralling costs have also lead to the search for sources. In this article existing sources and the potential strategies and tools available to create sustainable biosources are reviewed.

Topics: Biosynthetic Pathways; Plant Leaves; Plants, Medicinal; Plastids; Polyisoprenyl Phosphates; Solanaceae; Terpenes; Ubiquinone; Waste Products

Coenzyme Q

Topics: Animals; Biological Availability; Drug Carriers; Drug Delivery Systems; Female; Micelles; Nanoparticles; Polyethylene Glycols; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Solubility; Terpenes; Ubiquinone

A three-phase fluidized bed reactor (TPFBR) was designed to evaluate the potential of CoQ(10) production by gel-entrapped Sphingomonas sp. ZUTE03 via a conversion-extract coupled process. In the reactor, the CoQ(10) yield reached 46.99 mg/L after 8 h of conversion; a high-level yield of about 45 mg/L was maintained even after 15 repetitions (8 h/batch). To fully utilize the residual precursor (para-hydroxybenzoic acid, PHB) in the aqueous phase, the organic phase was replaced with new solution containing 70 mg/L solanesol for each 8 h batch. The CoQ(10) yield of each batch was maintained at a level of about 43 mg/L until the PHB ran out. When solid solanesol was fed to the organic phase for every 8 h batch, CoQ(10) could accumulate and reach a yield of 171.52 mg/L. When solid solanesol and PHB were fed to the conversion system after every 8 h batch, the CoQ(10) yield reached 441.65 mg/L in the organic phase after 20 repetitions, suggesting that the conversion-extract coupled process could enhance CoQ(10) production in the TPFBR.

Topics: Bioreactors; Biotechnology; Cells, Immobilized; Culture Media; Parabens; Sphingomonas; Terpenes; Ubiquinone

In a water-organic solvent, two-phase conversion system, CoQ(10) could be produced directly from solanesol and para-hydroxybenzoic acid (PHB) by free cells of Sphingomonas sp. ZUTE03 and CoQ(10) concentration in the organic solvent phase was significantly higher than that in the cell. CoQ(10) yield reached a maximal value of 60.8 mg l(-1) in the organic phase and 40.6 mg g(-1)-DCW after 8 h. CoQ(10) also could be produced by gel-entrapped cells in the two-phase conversion system. Soybean oil and hexane were found to be key substances for CoQ(10) production by gel-entrapped cells of Sphingomonas sp. ZUTE03. Soybean oil might improve the release of CoQ10 from the gel-entrapped cells while hexane was the suitable solvent to extract CoQ(10) from the mixed phase of aqueous and organic. The gel-entrapped cells could be re-used to produce CoQ(10) by a repeated-batch culture. After 15 repeats, the yield of CoQ(10) kept at a high level of more than 40 mg l(-1). After 8 h conversion under optimized precursor's concentration, CoQ(10) yield of gel-trapped cells reached 52.2 mg l(-1) with a molar conversion rate of 91% and 89.6% (on PHB and solanesol, respectively). This is the first report on enhanced production of CoQ(10) in a two-phase conversion system by gel-entrapped cells of Sphingomonas sp. ZUTE03.

Topics: Cells, Immobilized; Chemical Fractionation; Industrial Microbiology; Parabens; Sphingomonas; Terpenes; Ubiquinone

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a widely used supplement in heart diseases treatment or antioxidative dietary. The microbial production of CoQ10 was enhanced by addition of solanesol and novel precursors recovered from waste tobacco. The novel precursors were separated by silica gel and identified as alpha-linolenic acid (LNA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) based on the effect on CoQ10 production and GC-MS. The effects of novel precursors on CoQ10 production by Sphingomonas sp. ZUTE03 were further evaluated in a two-phase conversion system. The precursor's combination of solanesol (70 mg/l) with BHT (30 mg/l) showed the best effect on the improvement of CoQ10 yield. A maximal CoQ10 productivity (9.5 mg l-1 h-1) was achieved after 8 h conversion, with a molar conversion rate of 92.6% and 92.4% on BHT and solanesol, respectively. The novel precursors, BHT and LNA in crude extracts from waste tobacco leaves, might become potential candidates for application in the industrial production of CoQ10 by microbes.

Topics: alpha-Linolenic Acid; Butylated Hydroxytoluene; Industrial Microbiology; Nicotiana; Plant Extracts; Refuse Disposal; Sphingomonas; Terpenes; Ubiquinone

Solanesol in the waste streams of a bioprocess designed for alternative applications of low-alkaloid tobacco was recovered using three different extraction methods. Compared to the conventional heat-reflux extraction (HRE) and ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) using 1:3 hexane:ethanol (v/v) as the solvent after saponification treatment of tobacco biomass was found the most effective in terms of solanesol yield, processing time, and volume of solvent consumed. Quantification of solanesol was achieved by optimizing the mobile phase at 60/40 acetonitrile-isopropanol and lowering the oven temperature to 22 degrees C using a standard reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The total solanesol recovered from tobacco biomass and chloroplast accounted for 30% (w/w) of the total solanesol in the fresh leaves. Since solanesol is the precursor of metabolically active quinones such as coenzyme Q10 and vitamin K analogues, extraction of solanesol from tobacco bioprocess waste is a feasible operation and could leverage the overall profitability of biorefining tobacco for alternative, value-added uses.

Topics: Agriculture; Biomass; Biotechnology; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Ethanol; Hexanes; Microwaves; Nicotiana; Temperature; Terpenes; Time Factors; Ubiquinone; Ultrasonics; Vitamin K

A bacterium capable of producing Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10, was isolated from soil. Based on analysis of the 16S rDNA sequence, traditional physiological characteristics, and Biolog-GN, the strain was belonging to the genus Sphingomonas and named as Sphingomonas sp. ZUTEO3. The optimum fermentation condition of CoQ10 production was as following: glucose 15 g/L, (NH4)2SO4 10 g/L, original pH 8.0 and at 25 degrees C. The addition of solanesol could improve CoQ10 production. The optimal condition for the bioconservation from solanesol to CoQ10 was as following: adding 0.75 g/L of raw solanesol after the first 12 h fermentation and continued for another 12 h fermentation. The maximal yield of CoQ10 reached 96.88 mg/L.

Topics: Biomass; Culture Media; Culture Techniques; DNA, Bacterial; DNA, Ribosomal; Fermentation; Molecular Sequence Data; Phylogeny; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Soil Microbiology; Sphingomonas; Terpenes; Ubiquinone