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The microbial degradation of deoxycholic acid by Pseudomonas sp.MR108 was studied, and four products were isolated.Evidence is presented that one is the phenol 3,12β-dihydroxy-9,10-secoandrosta-1,3,5(10)-trien-9,17-dione (11) and that the other three are the neutral compounds 3aαH-4α--5α-hydroxy-7aβ-methyl-hexahydro-1-indanone-δ-lactone (12), 12β-hydroxyandrosta-1,4-dien-3,17-dione (10), and 12α-hydroxyandrosta-1,4-dien-3,17-dione (7).

The anaerobic metabolism of deoxycholic acid by Pseudomonas sp.NCIB 10590 wsa studied.The metabolic pathway was similar to that operating under aerobic conditions with 12β-hydroxyandrosta-1,4-dien-3,17-dione as the major neutral product and 12α-hydroxy-5β

Minor products in the microbial degradation of deoxychlolic acid are characterised and a metabolic pathway proposed.In a previous publocation we reported the transformation of deoxycholic acid 1 by Pseudomonas sp.NCIB 10590, in a mineral salts medium, to a mixture of neutral and acidic steroids.The major neutral product, 12β-hydroxyandrosta-1,4-dien-3,17-dione 2 and the major acidic product 12α-hydroxypregna-1,4-dien-3-one-20-carboxylic acid 9 were identified.We now report the structures of the minor products and propose a metabolic pathway.