Anhydroicaritin (1a), baohuoside (1b) and icariin (1c) were recognized as major pharmacologically active ingredients of Epimedium plants. Their primary means of acquisition were chemical isolation from plants. However, it suffers from low yield, environmental pollution and shortage of plants. Herein, to remedy these problems, biosynthesis was explored to obtain the three active ingredients. Fortunately, with SfFPT as 8-prenyltransferase, EpPF3RT and Ep7GT as glycosyltransferases, kaempferide (1) was transferred to 1a, 1b and 1c enzymatically. Thus, we report the details of this method. This approach represents a promising environmental friendly alternative for the production of these compounds from an abundant analogue.
Keywords: Anhydroicaritin; baohuoside; enzymatic synthesis; glycosyltransferases; icariin; prenyltransferase.