biosynthetic production of pseudopterosin C: An anti-inflammatory agent from a marine soft coral

Pseudopterosin C is a novel diterpene glycoside isolated from the Caribbean gorgonian coral, Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae. Pseudopterosin C is non-steroidal and has been shown to exhibit promising anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. The in vitro production of pseudopterosin C through biosynthetic methods has been examined. A cell-free system as well as an enzyme precipitate capable of transforming terpene precursors to the product has been developed. The parameters toward optimizing the enzymatic production through cofactor requirements, differing terpene precursors and sugars were investigated.