Synthesis of 7α-hydroxy-dehydroepiandrosterone and 7β-hydroxy-dehydroepiandrosterone

The fermentation of dehydroepiandrosterone synthesized from the starting material diosgenin using Mucor racemosus produced 7α-hydroxy-dehydroepiandrosterone and 7β-hydroxy-dehydroepiandrosterone. The bioactivity of the microbial metabolites is also discussed. The species M. racemosus was isolated by screening among stains from soil samples collected from various parts of China.