Biocatalysed reduction of carboxylic acids to primary alcohols in aqueous medium: A novel synthetic capability of the zygomycete fungus Syncephalastrum racemosum

• Syncephalastrum racemosum reduces carboxylic acids to primary alcohols.
• Methyl esters are first hydrolysed, then reduced by the fungus.
• The reduction is performed by the fungal whole cells in water at room temperature.
• Primary alcohols are obtained avoiding the use of metal hydrides and molecular hydrogen.
• The study of the basic molecular scaffold accepted by the fungus is presented.

The zygomycete fungus Syncephalastrum racemosum shows the remarkable capability of reducing carboxylic acids to primary alcohols in water medium, at ambient temperature and pressure. The reaction does not require molecular hydrogen, and in most cases affords quantitative transformations. The results herein reported highlight the basic molecular scaffold that can be accepted by the fungus, the effects due to substituents, and also the possibility that carboxylic acids can be generated in the reaction medium by enzymatic hydrolysis of the corresponding methyl esters. This biocatalysed reduction implements the scarcely supplied enzymatic toolbox for the conversion of carboxylic groups into primary alcohols, which can be exploited for the optimisation of sustainable synthetic procedures.

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