Chemistry – A European Journal, 24(40), 10028-10031, July 2018
https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201801047
Authors
- Felix Blei – Friedrich Schiller University Jena
- Florian Baldeweg – Friedrich Schiller University Jena
- Janis Fricke – Friedrich Schiller University Jena
1 more
Abstract
Psilocybin (4-phosphoryloxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine) is the main alkaloid of the fungal genus Psilocybe, the so-called “magic mushrooms.” The pharmaceutical interest in this psychotropic natural product as a future medication to treat depression and anxiety is strongly re-emerging. Here, we present an enhanced enzymatic route of psilocybin production by adding TrpB, the tryptophan synthase of the mushroom Psilocybe cubensis, to the reaction. We capitalized on its substrate flexibility and show psilocybin formation from 4-hydroxyindole and l-serine, which are less cost-intensive substrates, compared to the previous method. Furthermore, we show enzymatic production of 7-phosphoryloxytryptamine (isonorbaeocystin), a non-natural congener of the Psilocybe alkaloid norbaeocystin (4-phosphoryloxytryptamine), and of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) by means of the same in vitro approach.More
Acknowledgements
We thank A. Perner and H. Heinecke (Hans‐Knöll‐Institute Jena) for recording high‐resolution mass and NMR spectra, respectively. F. Baldeweg acknowledges a doctoral fellowship by the Excellence Graduate School Jena School for Microbial Communication (JSMC). This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (grant HO2515/7‐1). D.H.′s group is also supported by the DFG Collaborative Research Center ChemBioSys 1127.