PRODUCTION OF QUERCITOL AND USE THEREOF

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently obtain the subject compound itself having a biological activity and further useful as a raw material for medicines and agricultural chemicals by treating inexpensive myo-inositol as a raw material with a microorganism belonging to the genus Agrobacterium or the genus Salmonella. SOLUTION: This method for producing quercitol comprises inoculating a microorganism (e.g. Agrobacterium tumefaciens) belonging the genus Agrobacterium or a microorganism (e.g. Salmonella typhimurium) belonging to the genus Salmonella in a liquid culture medium containing myo-inositol of raw material and subsequently aerobically culturing the microorganism at a temperature of 20-35 deg.C for 2-5 days. The liquid culture medium is obtained by hydrolyzing rice bran, etc. with an alkali and subsequently purifying the product. The compound is also obtained by reacting the myo-inositol with cells obtained by culturing the microorganism belonging to the Agrobacterium or the microorganism belonging to the Salmonella in a solution containing the myo-inositol in a concentration of 0.1-5% at a temperature of 25-55 deg.C for 3-48 hr.