Richter Gedeon Vegyeszeti Gyar Rt

Zsuzesanna Vida

Imre Moravcsik

Gabor Ambrus

Istvan M Szabo

Tibor Lang

Karoly Albrecht

Eva Ilkoy

Antonia Jekkel Nee Bokany

Kalman Konczol

Emilia Simonovits

Gabor Hantos

Zsuzsanna Lengyel Nee Szemenyei

Eva Csajagi

The invention relates to a process for the production of 9.alpha.-hydroxy-4-androstene-3,17-dione from natural sterols of plant or animal origin or from mixtures thereof by the submerged aerobic fermentation of an enzyme-deficient, sterol-de-grading microorganism in a nutrient medium containing utilizable carbon and nitrogen sources as well as mineral salts, and by isolating the product formed, which comprises transforming the sterol or sterol mixture with the culture of a 1,2-steroid-dehydrogenase deficient strain of new Mycobacterium roseum species which is able to degrade the side-chain of natural sterols, preferably with Mycobacterium roseum sp. nov. 1108/1 deposited at the National Collection of Agricultural and Industrial Microorganisms, Budapest, Hungary under the number NCAIM B (P) 000339, and by isolating and purifying the 9.alpha.-hydroxy-4-androstene-3,17-dione obtained.

Microbiological process for preparing

Growing community of inventors

Budapest, Hungary

Zsuzesanna Vida