Soaked Phaseolus aureus L: an efficient biocatalyst for asymmetric reduction of prochiral aromatic ketones

An ecofriendly and environmentally benign asymmetric reduction of various prochiral ketones employing soaked Phaseolus aureus L as a biocatalyst was developed. We found for the first time that the soaked Phaseolus aureus L (commonly called green grams in India) could be effectively used for enantioselective bioreduction. This process is more efficient and generates less waste than the conventional chemical reagents or microorganisms. This process has been successfully tested for multigram scale production of optically active alcohols and this approach is found to be the most suitable for the preparation of pharmaceutically important molecules.