Microbial transformation studies can be used as models to simulate mammalian drug metabolism. In the present investigation,
biotransformation of celecoxib was studied in microbial cultures. Bacterial, fungal, and yeast cultures were employed in the
present study to elucidate the metabolism of celecoxib. The results indicate that a number of microorganisms metabolized celecoxib
to various levels to yield eight metabolites, which were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography diode array
detection and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analyses. HPLC analysis of biotransformed products indicated
that majority of the metabolites are more polar than the substrate celecoxib. The major metabolite was found to be hydroxymethyl
metabolite of celecoxib, while the remaining metabolites were produced by carboxylation, methylation, acetylation, or combination
of these reactions. The methyl hydroxylation and further conversion to carboxylic acid was known to occur in metabolism by
mammals. The results further support the use of microorganisms for simulating mammalian metabolism of drugs.
Keywords Celecoxib - Biotransformation - HPLC - LC–MS/MS - Metabolite - Microorganisms