IDENTIFICATION GENTISIC AND FUMARIC ACIDS IN THE COMPOSITION OF ACETYLSALICYLIC ACID BIODEGRADATION PRODUCTS
Currently, intensive research is being conducted on the biological destruction of pharmaceutical pollutants-components of medicines and their metabolites, which are widely detected in the environment due to its global pharmaceutical pollution. Acetylsalicylic acid is one of the mostfrequently detected pharmaceutical pollutants in surface, ground and waste waters, its mass consumption inevitably leads to the release of this substance into the environment. We have previously shown that actinobacteria of the genus Rhodococcus, which are typical representatives of soil microbiocenoses, are capable for biodegradation of acetylsalicylic acid in the form of a pharmaceutical substance and tablets. Depending on the conditions of the process (pH values, in particular), the decomposition of acetylsalicylic acid by rodococci can take place along two metabolic pathways - the path of formation of pyrocatechin, or the path of formation of gentisic acid, which turns into fumaric acid at the final stages, as evidenced by the results of this work. This study is devoted to the development of the optimal composition of the solvent system and an effective method for detecting gentisic and fumaric acids in the products of bacterial destruction of acetylsalicylic acid by thin-layer chromatography. Metabolic pathways and the scheme of bacterial decomposition of acetylsalicylic acid are presented