ABSTRACT
Terpenoids and steroids are substances naturally present in plants and animals. A variety of terpenoids and steroids with bioactive properties can be used as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antitumor, and contraceptive, among others. However, many of these compounds are found in nature at low concentrations, in the order of ppm, and require large amounts of raw material to meet the demand for production on a commercial scale. The growing need to obtain new and more effective compounds with health applications attracts the interest of the pharmaceutical industries for natural compounds synthesized through biotechnology. Different species of fungi, bacteria, and even microalgae have the ability to chemically biotransform compounds and produce compounds with different biological activities. This chapter covers examples of terpenoids and steroids with healthcare application obtained by biotransformation, highlighting some microorganisms and the biosynthetic pathways.
