Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:29:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2008-08-25Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:19:06Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 souza_dd_me_araiq.pdf: 1205391 bytes, checksum: efe0f12f0564d2daba3992d3a42bc863 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / A biotransformação utilizando microorganismos é uma ferramenta útil para substituir uma reação química de difícil execução, sendo possível catalisar régio e enantioseletivamente uma extensa gama de substratos xenobióticos, sobretudo na produção de compostos de interesse comercial. Nesta pesquisa foi utilizado como agente da biotransformação o fungo do gênero Curvularia isolado de uma planta endêmica do cerrado brasileiro (Ocootea corimbosa) pelo grupo NuBBE do Instituto de Química da UNESP de Araraquara. O ensaio foi realizado em duas etapas, na primeira foi feita uma triagem sobre alguns substratos escolhidos com o objetivo de determinar quais substratos eram promissores para a ocorrência da biotransformação e o melhor tempo de ensaio para estes substratos. Na segunda etapa da pesquisa foram selecionados a canfora, o mentol e o limoneno como substratos promissores. Os experimentos foram realizados com o intuito de avaliar a biotransformação de forma a verificar a presença de produtos biotransformados pelo fungo. Dessa forma foi realizada, em cada ensaio, uma etapa semipreparativa, onde os produtos da biotransformação foram analisados e identificados em mistura. As análises foram realizadas por CG-EM e RMN-H1 e RMN-C13 obtendo-se sempre um padrão para comparação. Para o ensaio com o limoneno foi verificado a presença um derivado dihidroxilado (1,2 limoneno diol) atestando a capacidade do fungo em bioidroxilar substratos exógenos. Para o mentol foi isolado e identificado um metabolito secundário inédito na literatura, que não havia sido isolado em trabalhos posteriores utilizando o fungo Curvularia sp. Para a cânfora foi possível constatar, em mistura, a presença de derivados monohidroxilados do substrato de partida. Esse foi o primeiro trabalho de biotransformação utilizando fungos isolados de uma planta endêmica... / The biotransformation using microorganisms is a useful tool to substitute a chemical reaction of difficult execution, being been possible enantioselectiv to catalyze regal and an extensive xenobiotic substratum gamma, over all in the composite production of commercial interest. In this research fungi of isolated the Curvularia sort of an endemic plant of the Brazilian open pasture (Ocootea corimbosa) for the NuBBE group of the Institute of Chemistry of the UNESP of Araraquara was used as agent of the biotransformation. The assay was carried through in two stages, in the first one a selection on some substrata chosen with the objective was made to determine which substratct was promising for the occurrence of the biotransformation and optimum time of assay for these substract. In the second stage of the research they had been selected the camphor, menthol and the limonene as promising substract. The experiments had been carried through with intention to evaluate the biotransformação of form to verify the presence of products biotransformad for fungi. Of this form it was carried through, in each assay, a semipreparativ stage, where the products of the biotransformation had been analyzed and identified in mixture. The analyses had been carried through by CGEM and RMN-H1 and RMN-C13 getting itself always a standard for comparison. For the assay with the limonene one derivative was verified the dihydroxilation presence (1,2 limoneno diol) certifying the capacity of fungi in to biohydroxilation exogen substract. For menthol isolated and an unknown secondary metabolit in the literature was identified, that had not been isolated in posterior works using fungi Curvularia sp. For the camphor it was possible to evidence, in mixture, the presence of monohydroxilations derivatives of the departure substratum. This was the first work of biotransformation using fungis... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Orientador: Ângela Regina Araújo / Banca: Márcia Nasser Lopes / Banca: André Luiz Meleiro Porto / Resumo: A biotransformação utilizando microorganismos é uma ferramenta útil para substituir uma reação química de difícil execução, sendo possível catalisar régio e enantioseletivamente uma extensa gama de substratos xenobióticos, sobretudo na produção de compostos de interesse comercial. Nesta pesquisa foi utilizado como agente da biotransformação o fungo do gênero Curvularia isolado de uma planta endêmica do cerrado brasileiro (Ocootea corimbosa) pelo grupo NuBBE do Instituto de Química da UNESP de Araraquara. O ensaio foi realizado em duas etapas, na primeira foi feita uma triagem sobre alguns substratos escolhidos com o objetivo de determinar quais substratos eram promissores para a ocorrência da biotransformação e o melhor tempo de ensaio para estes substratos. Na segunda etapa da pesquisa foram selecionados a canfora, o mentol e o limoneno como substratos promissores. Os experimentos foram realizados com o intuito de avaliar a biotransformação de forma a verificar a presença de produtos biotransformados pelo fungo. Dessa forma foi realizada, em cada ensaio, uma etapa semipreparativa, onde os produtos da biotransformação foram analisados e identificados em mistura. As análises foram realizadas por CG-EM e RMN-H1 e RMN-C13 obtendo-se sempre um padrão para comparação. Para o ensaio com o limoneno foi verificado a presença um derivado dihidroxilado (1,2 limoneno diol) atestando a capacidade do fungo em bioidroxilar substratos exógenos. Para o mentol foi isolado e identificado um metabolito secundário inédito na literatura, que não havia sido isolado em trabalhos posteriores utilizando o fungo Curvularia sp. Para a cânfora foi possível constatar, em mistura, a presença de derivados monohidroxilados do substrato de partida. Esse foi o primeiro trabalho de biotransformação utilizando fungos isolados de uma planta endêmica... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The biotransformation using microorganisms is a useful tool to substitute a chemical reaction of difficult execution, being been possible enantioselectiv to catalyze regal and an extensive xenobiotic substratum gamma, over all in the composite production of commercial interest. In this research fungi of isolated the Curvularia sort of an endemic plant of the Brazilian open pasture (Ocootea corimbosa) for the NuBBE group of the Institute of Chemistry of the UNESP of Araraquara was used as agent of the biotransformation. The assay was carried through in two stages, in the first one a selection on some substrata chosen with the objective was made to determine which substratct was promising for the occurrence of the biotransformation and optimum time of assay for these substract. In the second stage of the research they had been selected the camphor, menthol and the limonene as promising substract. The experiments had been carried through with intention to evaluate the biotransformação of form to verify the presence of products biotransformad for fungi. Of this form it was carried through, in each assay, a semipreparativ stage, where the products of the biotransformation had been analyzed and identified in mixture. The analyses had been carried through by CGEM and RMN-H1 and RMN-C13 getting itself always a standard for comparison. For the assay with the limonene one derivative was verified the dihydroxilation presence (1,2 limoneno diol) certifying the capacity of fungi in to biohydroxilation exogen substract. For menthol isolated and an unknown secondary metabolit in the literature was identified, that had not been isolated in posterior works using fungi Curvularia sp. For the camphor it was possible to evidence, in mixture, the presence of monohydroxilations derivatives of the departure substratum. This was the first work of biotransformation using fungis... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

O ácido copálico é um diterpeno de esqueleto do tipo labdano descrito na literatura como um dos diterpenos majoritários e biomarcador do oleorresina das espécies do gênero Copaifera. Este oleorresina é muito utilizado na medicina popular e estudos feitos com oleorresinas de diferentes espécies revelaram várias atividades biológicas. Entretanto, não há informações sobre o metabolismo dos constituintes do oleorresina após absorção no organismo. Assim, neste trabalho foram realizados estudos de biotransformação do ácido copálico com micro-organismos que apresentam potencial para mimetizar reações que ocorrem em humanos e também com alguns microorganismos presentes no trato gastrointestinal humano. O ácido copálico foi obtido de oleorresina de Copaifera disponível no mercado nacional. Devido à complexidade química do oleorresina, houve necessidade de utilizar vários processos cromatográficos visando o isolamento do ácido copálico. Assim, foram utilizadas cromatografia sob pressão reduzida, cromatografia em coluna clássica e cromatografia em coluna clássica utilizando sílica impregnada com nitrato de prata. Partindo-se de 352,0 g de oleorresina foram isolados 1224,5 mg de ácido copálico, o qual foi identificado pelas análises dos espectros de ressonância magnética nuclear de hidrogênio e de carbono treze. O diterpeno isolado foi submetido à avaliação da atividade antimicrobiana frente aos microorganismos a serem avaliados nos processos de biotransformação, o que possibilitou estabelecer a quantidade máxima de ácido copálico a ser adicionada nas culturas dos diferentes micro-organismos sem causar interferência no desenvolvimento dos mesmos. Os fungos filamentosos Mucor rouxii e Aspergillus brasiliensis, bem como as bactérias do trato gastrointestinal Bifidobacterium sp., Lactobacillus acidophillus e Escherichia coli foram utilizados no processo de triagem visando selecionar o micro-organismo mais promissor para os estudos de biotransformação do ácido copálico. Também foram realizados estudos em cultura mista de Bifidobacterium sp., Lactobacillus acidophillus e Streptococcus salivarius subesp.thermophilus. O processo de biotransformação conduzido com o fungo filamentoso Mucor rouxii evidenciou o potencial deste para biotransformar o ácido copálico. Os extratos obtidos das culturas do fungo Mucor rouxii foram submetidos às análises por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência com detecção por aerossol carregado e por arranjo de diodos, sendo detectados seis produtos de biotransformação que foram isolados por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência em escala semi-preparativa. No processo de biotransformação realizado com o fungo filamentoso Aspergillus brasiliensis vários produtos foram detectados, mas com baixos rendimentos. Quanto aos estudos de biotransformação realizados com as bactérias, não foram detectados sinais de diterpenos nas culturas de Lactobacillus acidophilus e Bifidobacterium sp. isoladas e em cultura mista incubadas com ácido copálico por 24 horas. Nas culturas de Escherichia coli foram detectados sinais do ácido copálico, mas não de produtos de biotransformação. Seis produtos de biotransformação foram isolados da cultura desenvolvida com o fungo Mucor rouxii. Dois destes tiveram suas estruturas químicas elucidadas. Nos dois produtos ocorreram hidroxilações no C-3 e no C-13 e em um dos produtos ocorreu também hidroxilação no C-18. Não há descrição na literatura das estruturas químicas dos produtos elucidados. / Copalic acid is a labdane type diterpene which was reported in the literature as a major constituent and biomarker of the oil resin from Copaifera species. This oil resin has been used in popular medicine and studies carried out with different species showed several biological activities. However, there is no information regarding the metabolism of the constituents after absorption in organism. Therefore, biotransformation studies were carried out using microorganisms that showed potential to mimic reactions that occur in human and also with microorganisms from the gastrointestinal tract. Copalic acid was obtained from Copaifera oil resin available in national market. Due to the chemical complexity, it was necessary to perform different chromatographic procedures in order to isolate copalic acid. Column chromatography, column chromatography under reduced pressure and column chromatography using silica gel impregnated with silver nitrate were performed. Starting from 352.0 g of oil resin, 1224.5 mg of copalic acid were isolated and the chemical structure was determined by analysis of the hydrogen and carbon nuclear magnetic ressonance. The isolated diterpene was submitted to antimicrobial activity evaluation against the microorganisms used in the biotransformation processes which enable to establish the maximum amount of copalic acid to be added into the cultures without causing inhibitory effects. The filamentous fungi Mucor rouxii and Aspergillus brasiliensis, as well as the bacteria Bifidobacterium sp., Lactobacillus acidophillus and Escherichia coli from the gastrointestinal tract were screened to select the most promising microorganism for biotransformation studies. In addition, biotransformation processes were carried out using mixed cultures of Bifidobacterium sp., Lactobacillus acidophillus and Streptococcus salivarius subesp.thermophilus. The biotransformation process performed by the filamentous fungis Mucor rouxii showed the great potential of this fungus to biotransform copalic acid. The extracts from the cultures of the fungus Mucor rouxii were submitted to high performance liquid chromatography with both charged aerosol and photodiode array detection and six biotransformation products were isolated by using high performance liquid chromatography in semi-preparative mode. Several biotransformation products were detected in the biotransformation process performed by Aspergillus brasiliensis, but with low yield. Regarding the biotransformation processes performed by bacteria, biotransformation products were not detected in the isolated and mixed cultures of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium sp. after 24 hours. Also, only the signals of copalic acid were detected in the cultures of Escherichia coli. Six biotransformation products were isolated from the culture of the fungus Mucor rouxii. The chemical structures of two products were elucidated. Hydroxyl groups were introduced at C-3 and C-13 in both compounds and another hydroxyl group was introduced at C-18 in only one compound. These structures were not reported before.

Streptomyces roseochromogenes, NCIB 10984, hydroxylates exogenous progesterone to 16a hydroxyprogesterone and thereafter in a second phase bioconversion to 2ß, 16a-dihydroxyprogesterone. Characterisation of this reaction was carried out at the whole cell level. The cellular components responsible for this reaction were also purified to homogeneity. S. roseochromogenes contains a cytochrome P450 and two electron transfer proteins, roseoredoxin and roseoredoxin reductase. A reconstituted incubation containing these purified proteins and the natural electron donor, NADH. produced identical hydroxyprogesterone metabolites as intact cells. In sodium periodate (Na104) supported incubations, the initial rate of progesterone hydroxylation was marginally higher than in the natural reconstituted system but the product yield was significantly lower. The yield data showed that the reconstituted natural pathway, supported multiple rounds of hydroxylation in contrast to a likely single round by a minority of P450s in the periodate reaction. When S. roseochromogenes was incubated with exogenous progesterone for 25 h the major metabolite, 16a-hydroxyprogesterone was produced in 3.6 fold excess to the minor metabolite 2ß, 16a-dihydroxyprogesterone. In a reconstituted system containing highly purified progesterone 16a-hydroxylase cytochrome P450, roseoredoxin and roseoredoxin reductase, both metabolites were produced but in a 10: 1 ratio. When S. roseochromogenes was preincubated with progesterone and the purified components of the hydroxylase system assayed as before, the ratio of 16a-hydroxyprogesterone to 2ß, 16adihydroxyprogesterone produced, decreased to 2.8: 1, virtually identical to the ratio in whole cell biotransformations. Reconstitution assays containing all combinations of hydroxylase proteins purified from progesterone preincubated and control cells, identified roseoredoxin as solely responsible for the observed changes in in vitro metabolite ratios. The fact that the 2.8: 1 ratio was also obtained when S. roseochromogenes was exposed to cycloheximide prior to progesterone pre-incubation; pointed to post translation modification of roseoredoxin. Separation of two isoforms by 2-D isoelectric focusing supported this proposition. A partial 10 amino acid sequence was obtained for both the cytochrome P450 and roseoredoxin for the purpose of probe design for eventual cloning. An amino acid sequence search revealed this P450 to be unique and unlike any other known P450 sequence. These two proteins were also successfully crystallised by hanging drop vapour diffusion trials, giving isomorphous crystals. These crystals will be used for structure determinations pending further growth.

As naftoquinonas são quinonas relacionadas com o sistema naftalênico. Essas substâncias constituem também uma classe de intermediários toxicológicos gerados através da biotransformação de hidrocarbonetos aromáticos policíclicos, estrógenos, catecolaminas e de vários outros fármacos.. Micro-organismos têm sido utilizados como ferramentas para prever o metabolismo dos fármacos, servindo como uma plataforma de estudos muito eficiente. Nesse sentido, os fungos filamentosos são utilizados por promover transformações mimetizando as reações hepáticas in vivo dos fármacos. As bactérias intestinais também têm sido empregadas, pois quando as substâncias entram em contato com a microbiota intestinal, também podem ser modificadas por essas bactérias. Juntos, esses micro-organismos podem contribuir para a elucidação de rotas metabólicas dos compostos, fornecendo informações sobre a geração de substâncias mais ativas, inativas ou tóxicas. Além disso, estudos de biotransformação podem ser ferramentas muito úteis para obtenção de novos derivados. Dessa forma, o presente trabalho relata os estudos de metabolismo microbiano de oito naftoquinonas com diferentes substituições (1,2-naftoquinona, 1,4-naftoquinona, lausona, menadiona, lausona metoxilada, plumbagina, 5-hidroxi-naftoquinona e vitamina K1) por diferentes espécies de fungos filamentosos (C.elegans, A.niger, A.brasiliensis, A.alliaceus, C.echinulata, M.rouxii, A.phoenicis, A.ochraceus e R.stolonifer) e bactérias intestinais (Bifidobacterium sp, L.acidophillus e E.coli) bem como pela levedura probiótica S.boulardii. Para isso, inicialmente, foram estabelecidas as condições de cultivo adequadas para cada micro-organismo. Foram feitos estudos sobre a estabilidade dos substratos nas condições experimentais padronizadas, bem como para o estabelecimento das condições de extração dos mesmos. As reações de biotransformação foram monitoradas por 10 dias para os fungos filamentosos e por 36 horas para as bactérias intestinais e para a levedura probiótica e os processos mais promissores foram selecionados para serem realizados em escala ampliada visando o isolamento dos derivados produzidos. A biotransformação da lausona metoxilada possibilitou a produção do derivado codificado como BLM1, identificado como lausona. As reações com a menadiona possibilitaram o isolamento e identificação de cinco metabólitos codificados como BM1, BM2, BM4, BM5 e BM6. Todas as naftoquinonas utilizadas como substratos nos processos de biotransformação e os derivados obtidos foram submetidos a ensaios de citotoxicidade frente a linhagens celulares normais e tumorais. De uma forma geral, as naftoquinonas não apresentaram citotoxicidade elevada quando comparadas com o controle positivo do experimento (doxorrubicina). No entanto, pode-se correlacionar o efeito das pequenas modificações nas estruturas químicas das naftoquinonas com diferentes respostas biológicas. Pôde-se estabelecer também que a manutenção dos grupos cetônicos do núcleo quinonóide são indispensáveis para o aparecimento da atividade citotóxica / Quinones are important organic compounds widely distributed in nature and used as colorants in cosmetics and food. These compounds are also used in medicine as anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, among other applications. Naphthoquinones are quinones related to the naphthalene system. These molecules belong to a class of toxic intermediates generated by the biotransformation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, estrogens, catecholamines and other drugs. The determination of safety and efficacy of drugs is closely related to the study of derivatives formation by in vivo metabolism reactions. Microorganisms have been used as tools to predict drug metabolism and are considered a very efficient platform of studies. Hereof, filamentous fungi are used due to their ability to promote chemical modifications that mimics in vivo liver reactions. Intestinal bacteria have also been used since they are known to modify drugs and other substances that may come into contact with the gut microbiota. Both fungi and bacteria can contribute to the elucidation of metabolic pathways of compounds, providing information about the generation of more active, inactive or toxic substances. Furthermore, biotransformation studies can be useful tools to obtain new derivatives. Hence, the goal of this work was to study the microbial metabolism of eight naphthoquinones with different substitutions (1,2-naphthoquinone, 1,4-naphthoquinone, lawsone, menadione, methoxy lawsone, plumbagin, 5-hydroxy-naphthoquinone and vitamin K1) by several species of filamentous fungi (C.elegans, A.niger, A.brasiliensis, A.alliaceus, C.echinulata, M.rouxii, A.phoenicis, A.ochraceus e R.stolonifer), intestinal bacteria (Bifidobacterium sp, L.acidophillus e E.coli) and the probiotic yeast S.boulardii. Additionally, all naphthoquinones used as substrates in biotransformation processes and the obtained derivatives were evaluated in cytotoxicity assays using normal and tumor cell lines. Initially, appropriate growth conditions were established for each microorganism. Stability studies with the substrates and the determination of appropriate extraction conditions were also carried out. The biotransformation reactions were monitored during 10 days for the filamentous fungi and during 36 h for intestinal bacteria and probiotic yeast. The most promising processes were selected to be carried out in enlarged scale for the isolation of the produced derivatives. The biotransformation of the methoxy-lawsone produced a compound encoded as BLM1 and identified as lawsone. Five metabolites encoded as BM1, BM2, BM4, BM5 e BM7 were identified and isolated from the menadione biotransformations. Regarding the cytotoxicity experiments, the naphthoquinones in general did not display high cytotoxicity when compared with the positive control doxorubicin. However, slight modifications in the naphthoquinones chemical structures were correlated to different biological responses. Additionally, the maintenance of ketone groups of the quinonoid nucleus were considered essential for the cytotoxic activity

Os pesticidas organofosforados são amplamente utilizados na agricultura, pois são muito eficazes no controle de pragas, promovendo um aumento na produtividade dos alimentos. Contudo, sua utilização indiscriminada provoca graves problemas ambientais e para a saúde humana, uma vez que são tóxicos também para as espécies que não são alvos e acumulam grandes quantidades de metabólitos tóxicos, como por exemplo, fenois. Os compostos fenólicos enquadram-se nos resíduos resultantes da degradação de compostos naturais e xenobióticos da atividade antrópica. Este trabalho teve por objetivo estudar as reações de conjugação de fase II em compostos fenólicos derivados da hidrólise de pesticidas organosfosforados (clorpirifós, metil paration e profenofós) e a biotransformação de outros fenois por enzimas provenientes de fungos de ambiente marinho. Primeiramente foi realizado um screening com os fungos de ambiente marinho Aspergillus sydowii CBMAI 934, A. sydowii CBMAI 935, A. sydowii CBMAI 1241, Penicillium decaturense CBMAI 1234, P. raistrickii CBMAI 931, P. raistrickii CBMAI 1235 e Trichoderma sp. CBMAI 932 para avaliar a resistência destes microrganismos frente à toxicidade dos pesticidas organofosforados para posterior escolha da cepa mais resistente e melhor adaptada aos pesticidas testados nesse trabalho. O fungo selecionado para as reações em meio líquido de malte 2%, que melhor adaptou-se na presença dos pesticidas testados foi a cepa do fungo A. sydowii CBMAI 935. Foram realizadas curvas analíticas com o objetivo de estimar a extensão da biodegradação dos pesticidas clorpirifós, metil paration, profenofós e seus respectivos produtos de hidrólise, os fenois 3,5,6-tricloro-2-piridinol, 4-nitrofenol e 4-bromo-2-clorofenol, respectivamente. As reações de biotransformação em meio líquido de malte 2% foram avaliadas com 10, 20, 30 d de reação com concentração inicial dos pesticidas organofosforados de 50 mg.L-1. Todos os metabólitos encontrados nas reações de biotransformação dos pesticidas organofosforados com o fungo A. sydowii CBMAI 935 foram comparados com os seus padrões analíticos e sintéticos (metilação) com o objetivo de corroborar as reações de bioconjugação. Através deste estudo foi possível sugerir a presença de enzimas fosfotriesterases e enzimas metiltransferases provenientes do fungo A. sydowii CBMAI 935. Enzimas que promoveram a hidrólise e metilação dos pesticidas e compostos fenólicos testados nesse trabalho. Segundo a literatura, as reações de biotransforrmação e bioconjugação dos pesticidas orgafosforados, diminuem consideravelmente a toxicidade desses compostos recalcitrantes. / Organophosphate pesticides are widely used in agriculture, as they are very effective in pest control, promoting an increase in productivity of food. However, indiscriminate use causes serious problems environmental and for human health, since they are also toxic to non-target species and accumulate large amounts of toxic metabolites, such as phenols. Phenolic compounds are part of the waste resulting from the degradation of natural compounds and xenobiotics of human activity. This work aimed to study the phase II conjugation reactions in phenolic compounds derived from hydrolysis of pesticides organophosphates (chlorpyrifos, methyl parathion and profenofos) and the biotransformation of other phenols for enzymes from marine environment fungi. First was conducted a screening with the marine environment fungi. Aspergillus sydowii CBMAI 934, A. sydowii CBMAI 935, A. sydowii CBMAI 1241, Penicillium decaturense CBMAI 1234, P. raistrickii CBMAI 931, P. raistrickii CBMAI 1235 and Trichoderma sp. CBMAI 932 to evaluate the resistance of these microorganisms front the toxicity of organophosphate pesticides to later choose the most resistant strain and better adapted to pesticides tested in this work. The fungus selected to the reactions in liquid medium 2% malt, which best adapted in the presence of the pesticide tested was the fungal strain of A. sydowii CBMAI 935. Standard curves were performed in order to estimate the extent of biodegradation of pesticides chlorpyrifos, methyl parathion, profenofos and their hydrolysis products, phenols 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol, 4-nitrophenol and 4-bromo- 2-chlorophenol, respectively. The biotransformation reactions in liquid medium 2% malt were evaluated in 10, 20, 30 days reaction of with initial concentration of organophosphate pesticides of 50 mg.L-1. All metabolites found in the biotransformation reactions of organophosphate pesticides with the fungus A. sydowii CBMAI 935 were compared with their synthetic and analytical standards (methylation) in order to corroborate the bioconjugation reactions. Through this study was possible suggest the presence of enzymes phosphotriestesterases and methyltransferases from fungus A. sydowii CBMAI 935. Enzymes that promote hydrolysis and methylation of pesticides and phenolic compounds tested in this work. According to the literature, the reactions of biotransformation and biodegradation of organophosphate pesticides, greatly reduce the toxicity of recalcitrant compounds.

Muitas naftoquinonas como o lapachol, podem ser encontradas em plantas da família Bignoniaceae e são conhecidas por desempenharem diversas atividades biológicas, acompanhadas, entretanto, por efeitos indesejáveis. A atividade citotóxica apresentada pelas naftoquinonas está relacionada ao aparecimento de espécies reativas de oxigênio in vivo que causam severo estresse oxidativo no interior das células. O isolapachol e a atovaquona são análogos estruturais do lapachol, sendo que a atovaquona é comercializada como fármaco para o tratamento de malária e certos tipos de pneumonia. Devido ao grande potencial biológico apresentado pelas naftoquinonas, várias tentativas no sentido de obtenção de derivados desprovidos de efeitos colaterais vêm sendo realizadas. Além disso, a determinação da segurança e eficácia dos fármacos está intimamente ligada ao estudo da formação de derivados in vivo por ocasião do metabolismo. A utilização de fungos filamentosos na predição do metabolismo que os fármacos sofreriam após administração oral, bem como de bactérias do trato gastrointestinal, pode contribuir substancialmente para a elucidação da rota metabólica de fármacos fornecendo informações sobre a geração de substâncias farmacologicamente ativas, inativas ou tóxicas e ainda sobre a produção de substâncias capazes de inibir a biotransformação de outros fármacos. Estudos de biotransformação também podem contribuir para a obtenção de novos esqueletos químicos. Dessa forma, o presente trabalho relata estudos do metabolismo microbiano do lapachol e do seu sal de potássio por bactérias do trato gastrointestinal e fungos filamentosos, além da correlação desses com as reações que ocorrem quando o isolapachol e a atovaquona são utilizados como substratos para os mesmos micro-organismos. Os experimentos de biotransformação utilizando lapachol e seu sal de potássio foram conduzidos por até dez dias, em diferentes meios de cultura, empregando-se quatro linhagens de bactérias presentes no trato gastrointestinal, além de 11 linhagens de fungos filamentosos. Foram obtidos sete metabólitos, sendo dois inéditos e dois anteriormente detectados em estudos sobre o metabolismo do lapachol em mamíferos. Durante a realização dos experimentos com o fungo filamentoso Aspergillus brasiliensis verificou-se a capacidade desse fungo em mimetizar uma reação muito importante em química orgânica, conhecida como oxidação de Hooker. As condições mais promissoras para a biotransformação do lapachol foram utilizadas nos estudos com a atovaquona e o isolapachol. A biotransformação da atovaquona possibilitou, pela primeira vez, a caracterização estrutural de um metabólito desse fármaco. Já os estudos realizados com o isolapachol permitiram inferências sobre a especificidade enzimática apresentada pelos micro-organismos avaliados. Todos os metabólitos obtidos foram submetidos aos ensaios de citotoxicidade frente a linhagens celulares normais e tumorais, o que possibilitou obter conclusões sobre a relação estrutura-atividade e sobre a citotoxicidade seletiva apresentada pelos metabólitos. Destaca-se o resultado obtido com um dos metabólitos do lapachol, ?-xiloidona, o qual se mostrou mais tóxico para a linhagem tumoral que o lapachol e não apresentou toxicidade frente à linhagem normal. O metabólito obtido a partir da biotransformação da atovaquona apresentou maior toxicidade não seletiva que a substância de partida. / Several naphthoquinones, as lapachol, can be found in the Bignoniaceae family and they present several biological activities with some unwanted effects. The cytotoxic activity displayed by naphthoquinones is correlated to the presence of reactive oxygen species, which are formed in vivo and cause severe oxidative stress within cells. Isolapachol and atovaquone are structural analogs of lapachol, and atovaquone is in the market as a drug for the treatment of malaria and some types of pneumonia. Because of the great biological potential presented by naphthoquinones, several studies have been carried out to obtain derivatives without side effects. Furthermore, the drug safety and efficacy are closely related to the study of the formation of in vivo derivatives during metabolism. The filamentous fungi and the bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract can be used in the prediction of drug metabolism after oral administration, which is an interesting tool to elucidation of the metabolic pathway of drugs, providing information on the generation of pharmacologically active, inactive or toxic substances and still on the production of compounds able to inhibit the biotransformation of other drugs. Biotransformation studies can also contribute to the obtention of new chemical skeletons (hits). Thus, the present work reports the study about the microbial metabolism of lapachol and its potassium salt by filamentous fungi and bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract, beyond the correlation of the reactions that occur when the isolapachol and atovaquone are used as substrates for the same microorganisms. The biotransformations of lapachol and its potassium salt were evaluated for up to ten days, in different culture media, catalyzed by four bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract and 11 filamentous fungi strains. Seven metabolites were obtained, from which two are new and two were previously detected in the mammals metabolism of lapachol. The filamentous fungus Aspergillus brasiliensis showed to be capable of mimicking the Hooker oxidation, an important organic chemistry reaction. The best conditions for the lapachol biotransformation have been used in the studies with isolapachol and atovaquone. The atovaquone biotransformation provided, for the first time, the structural characterization of a metabolite from this drug. The studies with isolapachol allowed inferences about the enzyme specificity shown by the evaluated microorganisms. All obtained metabolites were submitted to cytotoxicity assays against human cancer and tumoral cell lines. Several conclusions about the structure activity relationship and about the selective cytotoxicity showed by the metabolites were taken. It should be highlighted the obtained result with a lapachol metabolite, ?-xyloidone, which showed to be more toxic than lapachol against tumoral cell line and did not show cytotoxicity to normal cell line. The atovaquone metabolite displayed higher toxicity than pattern structure, and this activity was not selective.

Arzneistoffe werden nach ihrer Applikation durch verschiedene fremdstoff-metabolisierende Enzyme des Organismus biochemisch verändert. Durch eine Hemmung dieser Enzyme, z. B. durch Grapefruitsaft oder einen gleichzeitig eingenommenen Arzneistoff, kann es insbesondere bei Arzneistoffen mit geringer therapeutischer Breite, wie z. B. Theophyllin oder Phenprocoumon, zu gefährlichen Nebenwirkungen kommen. Besonders gefährdet sind multimorbide Patienten, die eine Therapie mit einer Vielzahl von Arzneimitteln erhalten. Um den Metabolismus von neuen Wirkstoffen und deren Interaktionspotential zu untersuchen, werden u. a. In-vitro-Experimente mit Zellfraktionen oder einzelnen Enzymen durchgeführt. Bei Inhibitionsassays wird der Einfluss von Arzneistoffen auf die Umsetzung eines Testsubstrates untersucht. Ein Großteil dieser Arbeit beschäftigt sich daher mit der Entwicklung von Methoden, mit denen die Inhibition wichtiger fremd-stoffmetabolisierender Enzyme, wie Cytochrom-P450-Enzyme (CYP-Enzyme), Glutathion-S-Transferasen (GSTs) und Carboxylesterasen (CES), untersucht werden kann. Dabei wurde auch eine Charakterisierung der Testsubstrate vorgenommen. Darüber hinaus wurden die Bioaktivierung von Clopidogrel und die Bildung von reaktiven Metaboliten untersucht. Aufgrund aktueller Diskussionen über die Interaktion zwischen Clopidogrel und Omeprazol wurde in dieser Arbeit die Bioaktivierung von Clopidogrel mit Hilfe von LC/MS/MS-Analysen und rekombinanten CYP-Enzymen sowie humanen Lebermikrosomen untersucht. Aufgrund der Instabilität des aktiven Metaboliten wurde in den inkubierten Proben eine Derivatisierung mit Dimedon durchgeführt. Die Untersuchungen zeigten, dass die Umwandlung zum 2-Oxo-Clopidogrel durch mehrere CYP-Enzyme erfolgt. Neben CYP2C19 sind CYP1A2, CYP2B6, CYP2C9 und CYP3A4 beteiligt. Anhand von selektiven Inhibitoren konnte CYP3A4 für die Bildung des aktiven Metaboliten aus 2-Oxo-Clopidogrel identifiziert werden. Neben der Biotransformation durch CYP-Enzyme wird hauptsächlich der Carbonsäureester des Clopidogrels hydrolysiert. Untersuchungen mit humanen Subzellfraktionen und rekombinanten Carboxylesterasen zeigen, dass die Esterhydrolyse durch CES1 katalysiert wird. Des Weiteren wurde der Metabolismus von Omeprazol untersucht. Es stellte sich heraus, dass die 5-Hydroxylierung und die 5-O-Demethylierung hauptsächlich durch CYP2C19 und CYP2D6 erfolgen. Dabei besitzt Omeprazol die höchste Affinität zu CYP2C19. Die Bildung von Omeprazolsulfon wird hingegen nur durch CYP3A4 katalysiert. Mit Hilfe etablierter CYP-Inhibitionsassays wurde der Einfluss von Clopidogrel und Omeprazol auf neun verschiedene CYP-Enzyme untersucht. Durch Clopidogrel wurden CYP2B6 (IC50 = 6 nM), CYP2C19 (IC50 = 0.4 µM) und CYP1A2 (IC50 = 2.8 µM) gehemmt. Omeprazol inhibiert v. a. CYP2C19 (IC50 = 2 µM) und CYP3A4 (IC50 = 17 µM). Im Folgenden wurde auch der Einfluss von Omeprazol auf die Bildung von 2-Oxo-Clopidogrel untersucht. Die Bioaktivierung wurde allerdings erst bei einer Omeprazol-Konzentration von mehr als 10 µM beeinflusst. Am stärksten wurde dabei CYP2C19 (IC50 ca. 100 µM) gehemmt. Aufgrund der recht schwachen Inhibition von CYP2C19 durch Omeprazol und der Tatsache, dass mehrere CYP-Enzyme die Bildung von 2-Oxo-Clopidogrel katalysieren, lässt sich der Wirkungsverlust von Clopidogrel bei einer gleichzeitigen Einnahme von Omeprazol anhand der Ergebnisse der In-vitro-Versuche nicht durch eine Hemmung von CYP2C19 erklären. Eine bisher nur wenig bei In-vitro-Interaktionsstudien untersuchte Klasse fremdstoffmetabolisierender Enzyme sind die Carboxylesterasen (CES), die v. a. bei der Bioaktivierung von Esterprodrugs eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Für die Entwicklung von Inhibitionsassays wurden zunächst verschiedene Modellsubstrate ausgewählt. Nach Inkubation dieser Substrate mit humanen Subzellfraktionen und rekombinanten Carboxylesterase-Enzymen wurden die Metaboliten mit Hilfe einer HPLC/UV-Analyse quantifiziert. Es zeigte sich, dass Methyl-4-nitrobenzoat und Mycophenolatmofetil selektiv durch CES1 hydrolysiert werden. Die Hydrolyse von Phenylacetat, p-Nitrophenylacetat und 4-Methylumbelliferylacetat wurde durch alle verwendeten Enzyme katalysiert. Darüber hinaus konnte eine Hydrolyse der aus Boswellia-Arten (Weihrauch) stammenden 3-O-Acetyl-11-keto--boswelliasäure durch CES2 beobachtet werden. Aufgrund der bei den meisten Modellsubstraten auftretenden Instabilität im Inkubationspuffer war eine Korrektur mit Hilfe von Blindproben erforderlich. Die Hydrolyse konnte durch Erniedrigung des pH-Wertes des Inkubationspuffers von 7.4 auf 6.5 und durch die Zugabe von Essigsäure zur Stopplösung verlangsamt werden. Anschließend wurde die Beeinflussung der Hydrolyse von p-Nitrophenylacetat durch Pflanzenextrakte untersucht. Es zeigte sich, dass zahlreiche Extrakte die Esterasen aus der humanen Leber hemmten und die Aktivität bei einer Extraktkonzentration von 25-50 µg/ml weit unterhalb von 50 % lag. Die Inhibition von CES durch Pflanzenextrakte stellt daher ein bisher unbekanntes Risiko für Arzneimittelinteraktionen dar. Cytochrom-P450-Enzyme (CYP-Enzyme) sind die wichtigste Gruppe fremdstoff-metabolisierender Enzyme. Zur Untersuchung der Beeinflussung dieser Enzyme durch neue Wirkstoffe werden daher standardmäßig In-vitro-Interaktionsstudien durchgeführt. Von der Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wurden daher für jedes CYP-Enzym verschiedene Arzneistoffe als Testsubstrate vorgeschlagen. Zusätzlich kommen bei solchen Untersuchungen Modellsubstrate zum Einsatz, deren Metaboliten fluoreszieren und die somit für ein Hochdurchsatz-Screening mit Hilfe von Mikrotiterplatten verwendet werden können. In dieser Arbeit wurde eine Reihe von Modellsubstanzen (Cumarin- und Harman-Derivate) auf ihre Eignung als Substrate für CYP-Inhibitionsassays untersucht. Nach der Entwicklung von Methoden zur Detektion der Metaboliten, die durch LC/MS/MS-Analysen oder durch HPLC/Fluoreszenzanalysen erfolgte, wurden die CYP-Enzyme identifiziert, die an der Umsetzung der Substrate beteiligt sind und mit Hilfe von CYP-Enzymen und humanen Lebermikrosomen wurden die Km-Werte der Substrate bestimmt. Die Untersuchungen zur Stabilität der CYP-Enzyme über 60 min zeigten, dass diese bei 37 °C stark an Aktivität verlieren, insbesondere CYP1A2. Für eine maximale Umsetzungsgeschwindigkeit war eine NADPH-Konzentration von 1 mM ausreichend. Die Untersuchung von 14 Standardsubstraten ergab, dass die Mehrheit selektiv durch das entsprechende CYP-Enzym umgesetzt wird. Die Amodiaquin-N-deethylierung, die Tolbutamidhydroxylierung, die Chlorzoxazon-6-hydroxylierung und die 4-Nitrophenol-2-hydroxylierung wurden durch mehrere CYP-Enzyme katalysiert. Als Positivkontrollen für die Inhibitionsassays und zur Identifizierung der am Metabolismus beteiligten CYP-Enzyme werden von der FDA verschiedene Inhibitoren vorgeschlagen. Da nicht zu allen Inhibitoren Daten über deren Isoenzymselektivität vorliegen, wurde mit Hilfe der Assays die inhibitorische Aktivität von zwölf Inhibitoren auf neun verschiedene CYP-Enzyme untersucht. Alle Inhibitoren hemmten das jeweilige angegebene CYP-Enzym. Bei Furafyllin (CYP1A2), Tranylcypromin (CYP2A6), Clopidogrel (CYP2B6), Montelukast (CYP2C8), Sulfaphenazol (CYP2C9), Chinidin (CYP2D6) und Ketoconazol (CYP3A4) konnte eine Konzentration ermittelt werden, bei der nur ein CYP-Enzym gehemmt wird. Für Quercetin, Nootkaton, Diethyldithiocarbamat, Sertralin und Ticlopidin wurde eine Inhibition mehrerer CYP-Enzyme festgestellt. Mit Hilfe der CYP-Inhibitionsassays wurden Extrakte lebertoxischer Arzneipflanzen, wie z. B. Tussilago farfara (Huflattich) oder Chelidonium majus (Schöllkraut), untersucht. Alle Extrakte hemmten konzentrationsabhängig die CYP-Enzyme, am stärksten die Enzyme der Subfamilie CYP2C. Als In-vitro-Substrate für CYP-Inhibitionsassays werden aufgrund ihrer starken Fluoreszenz häufig Cumarin-Derivate eingesetzt. In dieser Arbeit wurden daher 18 O-alkylierte bzw. O-benzylierte Derivate von 7-Hydroxycumarin, 7-Hydroxy-4-methylcumarin und 7-Hydroxy-4-trifluormethylcumarin synthetisiert und die Umsetzung durch verschiedene CYP-Enzyme mit Hilfe der zuvor optimierten LC/LC/Fluoreszenz-basierten Assays untersucht. An der O-Desalkylierung der Cumarin-Derivate waren hauptsächlich CYP1A2, CYP2B6 und im geringeren Ausmaß CYP2C19, CYP2D6 und CYP2E1 beteiligt. Die höchste Affinität besaßen die Substrate zu CYP1A2. Debenzylierungen wurden neben CYP1A2 hauptsächlich durch CYP3A4 katalysiert. Die höchsten Umsetzungsgeschwindigkeiten wurden für die Debenzylierung von 7-Benzyloxy-4-methylcumarin (BMC, 14 pmol/pmol P450/min) und 7-Benzyloxy-4-trifluormethylcumarin (BFC, 9 pmol/pmol P450/min) beobachtet. Für 7-Methoxy-4-trifluormethylcumarin (MFC) war die Umsetzungs¬geschwindigkeit für die O-Demethylierung mit CYP1A2 und CYP2B6 im Vergleich zu CYP2C9 deutlich höher. MFC und 7-Ethoxy-4-trifluormethylcumarin (EFC) eignen sich daher v. a. für Inhibitionsuntersuchungen von CYP2B6. Bei den untersuchten 7 Alkyloxycumarinen handelt es sich in allen Fällen nicht um selektive CYP-Substrate. Sie können demnach nicht für Inhibitionsuntersuchungen mit humanen Lebermikrosomen verwendet werden. Ein Einsatz für Simultanbestimmungen der Hemmung mehrerer CYP-Enzyme in einem Versuch (Cocktail-Assay) ist aus diesem Grund ebenfalls nicht möglich. Durch LC/MS-Analysen nach Inkubation der Cumarin-Derivate mit humanen Lebermikrosomen zeigte sich, dass neben den entsprechenden O Desalkylmetaboliten mehrere Hydroxymetaboliten entstehen und der O Desalkylmetabolit insbesondere bei Derivaten mit längeren Alkylsubstituenten nicht der Hauptmetabolit ist. Ein Ziel der Arbeitsgruppe ist es zudem, neue In-vitro-Substrate zur Untersuchung der Inhibition von CYP-Enzymen mit besseren enzymkinetischen und analytischen Eigenschaften zu entwickeln. Grundstruktur hierfür ist das -Carbolin, da -Carbolin-Derivate eine starke Fluoreszenz aufweisen. Von dem Naturstoff Harmin ist bekannt, dass dieser durch CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2C19 und CYP2D6 O-demethyliert wird. Durch Modifizierung der Harman-Struktur sollte die CYP-Isoenzymselektivität für die O-Dealkylierung gesteigert werden und Substrate für weitere CYP-Enzyme erhalten werden. Hierfür wurden in der Arbeitsgruppe u. a. 2-Benzyl-7-benzyloxyharman (BBH), 2-Benzyl-7-methoxyharman (BMH), 7-Methoxy-9-(4-carboxybenzyl)harman (MCBH) und 2-Methyl-7-methoxyharman (MMH) hergestellt. In dieser Arbeit wurden LC/LC/Fluoreszenz- und LC/MS/MS-Methoden zur Quantifizierung der aus diesen Derivaten entstehenden O-Desalkylmetaboliten entwickelt und die Substrate charakterisiert. Die Einführung von Benzylsubstituenten an der phenolischen Hydroxylgruppe von Harmol (BBH) führte zum Metabolismus durch CYP3A4 und die Substitution mit einem Carboxybenzylrest am Indolstickstoff (MCBH) verstärkte die Selektivität zu den Enzymen der Subfamilie 2C. Durch die Methylierung des Pyridin-Stickstoffs des Harmins (MMH) wurde ein selektives Substrat für CYP2D6 erhalten, weshalb bei dieser Substanz auch humane Lebermikrosomen verwendet werden können. Durch die im Vergleich zu anderen CYP2D6-Substraten erhaltene hohe Umsetzungsgeschwindigkeit lässt sich die Proteinkonzentration minimieren. Für die überwiegend an der O-Dealkylierung der Substrate beteiligten CYP-Enzyme wurden die Km-Werte ermittelt. Bei der Untersuchung von verschiedenen CYP-Inhibitoren zeigte sich, dass mit diesen Substraten vergleichbare IC50-Werte, wie mit den Standardsubstraten, erhalten werden. Die Harman-Derivate können daher zur Untersuchung der Inhibition wichtiger CYP-Enzyme eingesetzt werden und bieten eine Alternative zu den bisher vorhandenen Fluoreszenz-Substraten. Durch die Einstellung des pH-Wertes im Anschluss an die Inkubation lassen sich die Metaboliten ebenfalls fluorimetrisch in der Mikrotiterplatte detektieren und können für ein Hochdurchsatz-Screening eingesetzt werden. Allerdings müssen die Fluoreszenzeigenschaften weiter verbessert werden, um eine kontinuierliche Bestimmung während der Inkubation zu ermöglichen. In der pharmazeutischen Industrie besteht ein großes Interesse an der Detektion von reaktiven Metaboliten, um eine potentielle Lebertoxizität von neuen Wirkstoffen vorhersagen zu können. Hierfür werden die Testsubstanzen mit humanen Lebermikrosomen inkubiert und die reaktiven Metaboliten mit Glutathion abgefangen. Zur Optimierung der LC/MS/MS-Analysen wurde in dieser Arbeit die Fragmentierung solcher Addukte anhand von Standardsubstanzen untersucht. Bei allen untersuchten Glutathion-Addukten trat eine Abspaltung der Pyroglutaminsäure bei positiver Polarität mit einer vergleichbaren Signalintensität auf, weshalb eine Detektion dieses Fragmentes durch einen Neutral-Loss-Scan am besten geeignet erschien. Mit Hilfe der Screening-Methode wurden zuerst Arzneistoffe untersucht, von denen reaktive Metaboliten bekannt sind. Für die Bioaktivierung von Clozapin konnten CYP1A2, CYP2D6 und CYP3A4 identifiziert werden, während die Toxifizierung von Paracetamol hauptsächlich durch CYP1A2 und CYP3A4 erfolgte. Auffällig war, dass mit steigender Paracetamolkonzentration keine Sättigung der Umsetzung auftrat. Durchgeführte Molekülveränderungen am Glutathion, wie die Einführung eines Dansylrestes oder eines Biotins, führten zu keiner deutlichen Verbesserung der Detektion der reaktiven Metaboliten. Darüber hinaus zeigte sich, dass bei den markierten GSH-Derivaten die Umsetzung durch GSTs erheblich reduziert ist. Mit der Screening-Methode wurden allerdings viele falsch positive Signale erhalten, so dass diese nicht für eine Untersuchung von Extrakten lebertoxischer Pflanzen eingesetzt werden konnte. Für eine eindeutige und schnelle Identifizierung der Signale als Glutathion-Addukte ist daher die hochauflösende Massenspektrometrie erforderlich. Eine weitere Klasse fremdstoffmetabolisierender Enzyme sind die Glutathion-S-Transferasen (GSTs), über deren Inhibition durch Arzneistoffe und Pflanzenextrakte in der Literatur nur wenige Daten vorliegen. Zur Entwicklung von Inhibitionsassays wurden die in der Literatur beschriebenen Substrate 1-Chlor-2,4-dinitrobenzol, 4 Nitrochinolin-N-oxid, 1,2-Dichlor-4-nitrobenzol und 4-Nitrobenzylchlorid verwendet. Die Detektion der Metaboliten erfolgte im Gegensatz zu der häufig eingesetzten Photometrie mit Hilfe der HPLC/UV- bzw. einer LC/MS/MS-Analyse. Für die Kalibrierung wurden zunächst die entsprechenden Glutathionkonjugate aus den Substraten synthetisiert. Bei den durchgeführten diskontinuierlichen Assays stellte die häufig auftretende nichtenzymatische Reaktion der Substrate mit Glutathion ein Problem dar. Durch die Erniedrigung des pH-Wertes des Inkubationspuffers von 7.4 auf 6.5 und der Senkung der Inkubationstemperatur von 37 °C auf 25 °C konnte die nichtenzymatische Reaktion während der Inkubation erheblich verlangsamt werden. Die nichtenzymatische Reaktion nach der Inkubation konnte durch Zugabe von Oxidationsmitteln gestoppt werden. Von den getesteten humanen Lebersubzell¬fraktionen besaß die cytosolische Fraktion bei allen Substraten die höchste Aktivität. Im Rahmen der Assayentwicklung wurde die Glutathion-, die Proteinkonzentration und die Inkubationszeit optimiert. Es wurden die Km- und Vmax-Werte für die Umsetzung der Substrate ermittelt. Als Positivkontrolle diente das ebenfalls synthetisierte Glutathionkonjugat der Etacrynsäure, für das die IC50-Werte mit jedem Substrat bestimmt wurden. Dabei konnte ein Einfluss des pH-Wertes des Inkubationspuffers und der Inkubationstemperatur auf die gemessene inhibitorische Aktivität beobachtet werden. Anschließend wurde ein Screening von Arzneistoffen, ausgewählten Naturstoffen und etwa 50 Pflanzenextrakten auf eine Inhibition der GSTs in humanem Lebercytosol mit 1-Chlor-2,4-dinitrobenzol, das am schnellsten von allen Substraten umgesetzt wurde, durchgeführt. Von den getesteten Naturstoffen fiel eine ausgeprägte Hemmung durch Biflavonoide auf. Nahezu alle untersuchten Pflanzenextrakte hemmten die GSTs. Eine starke Inhibition der GSTs zeigten Extrakte aus Cinnamomum cassia (Zimt), die sich als nicht-kompetitiv herausstellte. Weiterhin wurde eine starke Hemmung der Extrakte gerbstoffhaltiger Pflanzen, wie z. B. Hamamelis virginiana (virginische Zaubernuss) oder Krameria triandra (Ratanhia), beobachtet. Hier resultierten IC50-Werte zwischen 5 und 30 µg/ml. Ein Vergleich verschiedener Methoden zur Detektion des Metaboliten 2,4 Dinitrophenyl-S-glutathion zeigte, dass die Photometrie für die Untersuchung der Inhibition von Pflanzenextrakten aufgrund der Störung durch die Pflanzenmatrix ungeeignet ist. Mit Hilfe der verwendeten HPLC/UV- sowie der LC/MS/MS-Analyse konnte der Metabolit selektiv erfasst werden und reproduzierbare Ergebnisse für die Inhibition der GSTs durch Pflanzenextrakte erzielt werden. Neben den GSTs wurde auch die Beeinflussung der Glutathionreduktase (GR) in dieser Arbeit untersucht. Hierfür wurde ein HPLC-basierter Assay entwickelt, bei dem das reduzierte Glutathion mit 5,5´-Dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoesäure) derivatisiert und das entstandene gemischte Disulfid aus Glutathion und 5-Thio-2-nitrobenzoesäure quantifiziert wurde. Zur Untersuchung der Inhibition durch Pflanzenextrakte wurde humanes Lebercytosol verwendet, das von allen humanen Lebersubzellfraktionen die höchste Aktivität besaß. Im Vergleich zu den GSTs wurde die GR durch die überwiegende Zahl der ausgewählten Pflanzenextrakte kaum gehemmt. Eine nennenswerte Inhibition der GR konnte nur bei Extrakten von Juglans regia (Walnuss) beobachtet werden. Fazit In dieser Arbeit wurden eine Reihe von In-vitro-Methoden zur Untersuchung der Inhibition von CYP-Enzymen und weiteren fremdstoffmetabolisierenden Enzymen, wie CES oder GSTs, entwickelt. Aufgrund der dabei angewendeten selektiven HPLC-basierten Quantifizierung der Metaboliten durch UV-, Fluoreszenz- oder MS-Detektion können mit diesen Methoden auch Proben mit komplexer Matrix untersucht werden. Für alle Assays wurden die Inkubationsbedingungen optimiert und die enzymkinetischen Parameter vieler Substrate ermittelt. Darüber hinaus wurden wichtige Erkenntnisse über die Isoenzymselektivität dieser Substrate gewonnen. Die Eignung der Assays wurde anhand von Standardinhibitoren bewiesen. Schließlich wurde die inhibitorische Aktivität von zahlreichen Pflanzenextrakten bestimmt, deren Auswirkung auf fremdstoffmetabolisierende Enzyme bisher unbekannt war. Die in dieser Arbeit beschriebenen Methoden können für die Untersuchung des Metabolismus von Arzneistoffen und der Inhibition fremdstoffmetabolisierender Enzyme, die für eine Zulassung neuer Wirkstoffe erforderlich ist, routinemäßig eingesetzt werden. / Drugs are biochemically transformed by different xenobiotic metabolising enzymes after their application to humans. The inhibition of these enzymes, e. g. by grapefruit juice or a coadministrated drug, especially drugs with a small therapeutic range, for example theophylline or phenprocoumon, can result in serious side effects. Especially endangered are multimorbid patients, who get a therapy with multiple drugs. To examine the metabolism of new therapeutic agents and their potential for interactions, in-vitro-experiments will be done with tissue fractions or individual enzymes. In inhibition assays the influence of the drug on the transformation of the test substrate will be investigated. A major part of this work deals with the development of methods to test the inhibition of xenobiotic metabolising enzymes, like cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP enzymes), glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) and carboxylesterases (CES). Thereby, a characterisation of the test substrates was performed. In addition the bioactivation of clopidogrel and the formation of reactive metabolites were investigated. Due to current discussions about the interaction between clopidogrel and omeprazole, the bioactivation of clopidogrel was investigated by LC/MS/MS analysis and recombinant CYP enzymes or human liver microsomes. Because of the instability of the active metabolite a derivatisation of the incubated samples with dimedone were carried out. The investigation shows, that the transformation to 2 oxo-clopidogrel is catalysed by several CYP enzymes. Beside CYP2C19, the enzymes CYP1A2, CYP2B6, CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 are involved. With selective inhibitors CYP3A4 could be identified for the formation of the active metabolite from 2-oxo-clopidogrel. In addition to the biotransformation by CYP enzymes the carboxylic acid ester of clopidogrel is mainly hydrolysed. Incubations with human tissue fractions and recombinant carboxylesterases shows, that the hydrolysis of the ester is catalysed by CES1. Furthermore the metabolism of omeprazole was investigated. The results show, that the 5-hydroxylation and the 5-O-demethylation mainly is carried out by CYP2C19 and CYP2D6. Thereby omeprazole has the highest affinity to CYP2C19. In contrast, the formation of omeprazole sulfone is catalysed especially by CYP3A4. With the aid of established inhibition assays for CYP enzymes the influence of clopidogrel and omeprazole on nine different CYP enzymes was investigated. Clopidogrel inhibits CYP2B6 (IC50 = 6 nM), CYP2C19 (IC50 = 0.4 µM) and CYP3A4 (IC50 = 2.8 µM). Omeprazole inhibits especially CYP2C19 (IC50 = 2 µM) and CYP3A4 (IC50 = 17 µM). Subsequent, the influence of omeprazole on the formation of 2-oxo-clopidogrel was also investigated. However, the bioactivation of clopidogrel was decreased by concentrations of omeprazole higher than 10 µM. Here mostly CYP2C19 was inhibited with an IC50 value of about 100 µM. Due to the poor inhibition of CYP2C19 caused by omeprazole and the fact, that several CYP enzymes catalyse the formation of 2-oxo-clopidogrel, the loss of the pharmacological effect of clopidogrel during the simultaneous intake of omeprazole can not be explained with the inhibition of CYP2C19. A previously insufficient investigated class of xenobiotic metabolising enzymes are carboxylesterases (CES) which especially play an important role in the bioactivation of ester prodrugs. For the development of inhibition assays different artificial substrates were selected. After the incubation with human tissue fractions and recombinant carboxylesterases the metabolites were quantified via HPLC/UV-analysis. It was demonstrated that methyl 4-nitrobenzoate and mycophenolate mofetil are selectively hydrolysed by CES1. The hydrolysis of phenyl acetate, p nitrophenyl acetate and 4-methylumbelliferyl acetate was catalysed by all enzymes used. Furthermore the hydrolysis of 3-O-acetyl-11-keto--boswellic acid, which can be isolated from various Boswellia species, by CES2 was obtained. Because of the instability of the most artificial substrates in the incubation buffer, a correction with a blank value was necessary. A decrease of the pH value of the incubation buffer from 7.4 to 6.5 and the addition of acetic acid to the termination solvent retards the hydrolysis. Afterwards the influence of the inhibitory activities of plant extracts on the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl acetate was investigated. The results shows, that numerous plant extracts inhibits esterases of the human liver and the activity with an extract concentration of 25-50 µg/ml is widely below 50 percent. Thus the inhibition of CES caused by plant extracts is until now an unknown risk of drug interactions. Cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP enzymes) are the most important class of xenobiotic metabolising enzymes. To investigate the influence of these enzymes due to new active substances standardised in vitro interaction studies will be performed. Thus the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suggested several drugs as test substrates for each CYP isoform. Additional artificial substrates are used in such studies. The metabolites of these substrates are fluorescent and therefore they are suitable for high-throughput screening analysis in multiwell plates. In this work, a series of artificial substrate (derivatives of coumarin and harmane) were investigated to their applicability as substrates for CYP inhibition assays. After the development of methods to detect the metabolites, which was done by LC/MS/MS- or HPLC/fluorescence analysis, the CYP isoforms for the transformation of the substrates were identified. With the aid of CYP enzymes and human liver microsomes the Km values were determined. The stability testing of the CYP enzymes during 60 min shows, that they strongly lose their activity at 37 °C, especially CYP1A2. For the maximum reaction velocity, a NADPH concentration of 1 mM was sufficient. The investigation of 14 standard substrates shows, that the majority was metabolised by a single CYP enzyme. The amodiaquine N-deethylation, the tolbutamide hydroxylation, the chlorzoxazone 6-hydroxylation and the 4 nitrophenole 2-hydroxylation were catalysed by several CYP isoforms. As positive control of the inhibition assays and for the identification of the CYP enzymes, which are involved in the metabolism, the FDA has also proposed several inhibitors. For many inhibitors there are no data of the selectivity to the CYP isoforms published. Therefore the inhibitory activity of 12 inhibitors with 9 different CYP enzymes by the established assays was investigated. All inhibitors inhibited the previously described CYP enzymes. For furafylline (CYP1A2), tranylcypromine (CYP2A6), clopidogrel (CYP2B6), montelukast (CYP2C8), sulfaphenazole (CYP2C9), quinidine (CYP2D6) and ketoconazole (CYP3A4) a concentration was found, which inhibited only one CYP enzyme. For quercetin, nootkatone, diethyldithiocarbamic acid, sertraline and ticlopidine an inhibition of several CYP enzymes was discovered. With the CYP inhibition assays liver toxic plant extracts of e. g. Tussilago farfara (coughwort) or Chelidonium majus (celandine) were investigated. All extracts inhibited the CYP enzymes concentration dependent, most intensive the enzymes of subfamily CYP2C. Coumarin derivatives are often used as in vitro substrates for CYP inhibition assays because of their high fluorescence. In this work 18 O-alkylated and O-benzylated derivatives of 7-hydroxycoumarin, 7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin and 7-hydroxy-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin were synthesised and the transformation due to several CYP enzymes was investigated with primarily optimised LC/LC/fluorescence-based assays. On the O-dealkylation of coumarin derivatives CYP1A2, CYP2B6 were mainly participated and to a lower extent CYP2C19, CYP2D6 and CYP2E1. The highest affinity had the substrates to CYP1A2. Debenzylations were catalysed mainly by CYP1A2 and CYP3A4. The highest reaction velocities were observed for the debenzylation of 7-benzyloxy-4-methylcoumarin (BMC, 14 pmol/pmol P450/min) and 7-benzyloxy-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin (BFC, 9 pmol/pmol P450/min). For 7-methoxy-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin (MFC) the conversion rate for the O-demethylation with CYP1A2 and CYP2B6 in comparison with CYP2C9 was explicitly higher. So MFC and 7-ethoxy-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin (EFC) are suitable substrates especially for CYP2B6. All analysed 7-alkyloxycoumarin derivatives are no selective substrates. Thus they cannot be used for inhibition studies with human liver microsomes. Also their application for the simultaneous determination of the inhibition of several CYP enzymes in one sample (cocktail assay) is not possible. The LC/MS-based analysis after the incubation of the coumarin derivatives showed, that beside the O dealkylated metabolites several hydroxylated metabolites are formed. In many cases the O-dealkylated metabolite is not the main metabolite, especially by derivatives with longer alkyl chains. An aim of our group is the development of new in vitro substrates for the investigation of the inhibition of CYP enzymes with improved kinetic and analytical properties. The basic structure is -carboline, because -carboline derivatives show a strong fluorescence. It is known about the natural product harmine, that it will be O demethylated by CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP2D6. Due to modifications of the harmane structure, the CYP isoform selectivity for the O-dealkylation should increase and substrates should receive for further CYP enzymes. For this, our working group synthesised e. g. 2-benzyl-7-benzyloxyharmane (BBH), 2-benzyl-7-methoxyharmane (BMH), 7-methoxy-9-(4-carboxybenzyl)harmane (MCBH) and 2 methyl-7-methoxyharmane (MMH). In this work LC/LC/fluorescence- and LC/MS/MS methods were developed for quantification of the generated O dealkylated metabolites. The introduction of a benzyl residue at the phenolic hydroxyl group of harmol (BBH) caused a metabolism due to CYP3A4. The substitution with a carboxybenzyl residue on the indole nitrogen (MCBH) increased the selectivity to the subfamily CYP2C. With the methylation of the pyridine nitrogen a selective substrate for CYP2D6 was obtained. So this substrate is usable with human liver microsomes. Due to the high reaction velocity of MMH in comparison with other substrates of CYP2D6, the concentration of the protein can be minimized. The Km values of the CYP enzymes, which predominantly catalysed the O dealkylation of the harmane derivatives, were determined. The investigation of several CYP inhibitors showed, that with the new substrates comparable IC50 values to the standardised substrates were received. The harmane derivatives are suitable for the detection of the inhibition of important CYP enzymes. They are alternative substrates to the previously existing fluorescent substrates. With an adjustment of the pH value after incubation, the metabolites can be fluorimetrically detected in multiwell plates. So they are usable for high throughput screening. However, the fluorescence properties have to be improved for a continuous determination of the metabolite during the incubation. The pharmaceutical industry is interested in the detection of reactive metabolites to predict a potential liver toxicity of new drug candidates. For this purpose the test compounds will be incubated with human liver microsomes and the reactive metabolites will be trapped with glutathione. To optimise the LC/MS/MS analysis, the fragmentation of such adducts was investigated with standard substances. At positive polarity, all glutathione adducts showed a loss of pyroglutamic acid with comparable peak intensity. Therefore the detection of this fragment with a neutral loss scan is most practicable. With the aid of the screening method first drugs were investigated from which reactive metabolites are known. CYP1A2, CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 were identified for the bioactivation of clozapine. The toxification of acetaminophen is mainly catalysed by CYP1A2 and CYP3A4. Conspicuous was the fact, that there was no saturation of the reaction velocity with increasing concentration of acetaminophen. Changes of the glutathione molecule like the introduction of a dansyl or a biotin residue do not seriously improve the detection of the reactive metabolites. Also it was shown, that the reaction of the labelled glutathione derivatives by GSTs is significantly reduced. With the developed screening methods many false positive signals were observed. So this method was not applicable for the investigation of extracts from liver toxic plants. For a definite and fast identification of signals as glutathione adducts the high resolution mass spectrometry is required. Another class of xenobiotic metabolising enzymes are glutathione S-transferases (GSTs). About their inhibition caused by drugs and plant extracts only a few information can be found in the literature. For the development of inhibition assays well known substrates like 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene, 4-nitroquinoline N-oxide, 1,2 dichloro-4-nitrobenzene and 4-nitrobenzyl chloride were used. The metabolites were quantified by HPLC/UV- and LC/MS/MS analysis in contrast to the often used photometry. For the calibration of the methods first the appropriate glutathione conjugates were synthesised from the substrates. A problem of the discontinuous assays was the often arising non enzymatic reaction of the substrates with glutathione. With a decrease of the pH value of the incubation buffer from 7.4 to 6.5 and the reduction of incubation temperature from 37 °C to 25 °C the velocity of the non enzymatic reaction extensively slows down. The non enzymatic reaction in the samples after incubation could stopped by the addition of oxidants. For all substrates the cytosolic fraction showed the highest activity of all tested human liver tissue fractions. During the development of the assays the glutathione concentration, the protein concentration and the incubation time were optimised. The Km and Vmax values for the conversion of the substrates were determined. The also synthesised glutathione conjugate of ethacrynic acid was used as positive control, for that the IC50 values were determined with every substrate. Thereby the pH value of the incubation buffer and the incubation temperature influence the measured inhibitory activity. Following drugs, selected natural products and about 50 plant extracts were screened for the inhibition of GSTs with human liver cytosol and 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene, that was conjugated with the highest conversion rate of all substrates. Of the natural products the distinctive inhibition of biflavonoids was noticeable. Nearly all tested plant extracts inhibits GSTs. A strong inhibition of the GSTs showed extracts from Cinnamomum cassia (cinnamomum), which is non-competitive. Furthermore an important inhibition caused by extracts from e. g. Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) or Krameria triandra (ratanhia) were observed. Here IC50 values between 5 and 30 µg/ml were obtained. A comparison of different methods for the detection of the metabolite 2,4-dinitrophenyl-S-glutathione demonstrated, that photometry is not suitable for the investigation of the inhibition by plant extracts because of the interference caused by the plant matrix. With HPLC/UV- and the LC/MS/MS methods the metabolite could selectively be determined and reproducible results for the inhibition of GSTs by plant extracts were obtained. Besides GSTs the influence of glutathione reductase (GR) was also investigated in this work. An HPLC-based assay was developed, where the reduced glutathione has been derivatised with 5,5-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) and the resulted mixed disulfide of glutathione and 5-thio-2-nitrobenzoic acid has been quantified. For the examination of the inhibition by plant extracts, human liver cytosol was applied, which has the highest activity of all human liver tissue fractions. In comparison with GSTs, the GR was hardly inhibited by most of the selected plant extracts. A notable inhibition could only be obtained by extracts of Juglans regia (walnut). Conclusion In this work, many in vitro methods for the investigation of the inhibition of CYP enzymes and further xenobiotic metabolising enzymes like CES or GSTs were developed. On the basis of the selective HPLC-based quantification with UV-, fluorescence- or MS detection, samples with a complex matrix can be measured. For all assays the conditions for incubation were optimised and the kinetic parameters of many substrates were determined. In addition important information about the selectivity of isoenzymes was received. The suitability of the developed assays was demonstrated with standard inhibitors. Finally, the inhibitory activity of numerous plant extracts were determined, which effect on xenobiotic metabolising enzymes was previously unknown. The developed methods in this work are routinely applicable for the investigation of drug metabolism and the inhibition of xenobiotic metabolising enzymes, which are required for the marketing authorization.

Bei Daidzein und Bisphenol A handelt es sich um zwei Vertreter einer Klasse von Stoffen, die als „Umwelthormone“ (engl. endocrine disrupter) bezeichnet werden. Aus der Gruppe der Phytoöstrogene wurde Daidzein als wichtiger Vertreter, der in hohen Konzentrationen in vielen Nutzpflanzen und Nahrungsmitteln vorkommt, ausgewählt. Sojaprodukte, die den größten Beitrag einer menschlichen Exposition gegen Daidzein liefern, werden in zunehmendem Maße auch in westlichen Ländern konsumiert. Bisphenol A wurde als Vertreter der Xenoöstrogene gewählt, da es - was Weltjahresproduktion und Verwendung angeht - die wohl wichtigste Substanz dieser Gruppe darstellt. Im ersten Teil der Arbeit wurde die Biotransformation und Toxikokinetik der beiden Verbindungen nach oraler Gabe in der Ratte aufgeklärt. Dabei konnte gezeigt werden, daß die orale Bioverfügbarkeit beider Substanzen in der Ratte sehr gering war. Maximal zehn Prozent der jeweils applizierten Dosis konnten im Urin der Tiere wiedergefunden werden. Als Hauptmetabolit wurden sowohl von Daidzein als auch von Bisphenol A das jeweilige Glucuronid-Konjugat gebildet. Bei Daidzein überwog in der männlichen Ratte zusätzlich das Sulfat-Konjugat. Der Anteil an freier, d.h. unkonjugierter Verbindung betrug im Urin der Tiere zwischen 1 und 3 Prozent der Dosis. Außer den Phase II-Konjugaten, die aufgrund ihrer mangelnden östrogenen Wirksamkeit zu einer Detoxifizierung der beiden Verbindungen führte, konnten nach Gabe von Bisphenol A in der Ratte keine weiteren Metabolite identifiziert werden. Nach Exposition mit Daidzein konnten in den Faeces der Tiere in geringem Umfang die beiden reduktiven Metabolite Equol und O-DMA gefunden werden. Diese wurden wahrscheinlich im Magen-Darm-Trakt durch die Bakterien der Darmflora gebildet. Sowohl Daidzein als auch Bisphenol A wurden bei der Ratte nur unvollständig aus dem Magen-Darm-Trakt resorbiert; der Großteil der gegebenen Dosis wurde als unveränderte Substanz in den Faeces wiedergefunden. Bei Bisphenol A wurde die Ausscheidung zudem durch einen ausgeprägten enterohepatischen Kreislauf verzögert. Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit wurden zunächst empfindliche GC/MS- und HPLC-Methoden zur Quantifizierung der Verbindungen in humanen Plasma- und Urinproben entwickelt. Danach wurden freiwillige Probanden oral mit jeweils 5 mg Daidzein bzw. d16-Bisphenol A exponiert, um Daten zur Biotransformation und Toxikokinetik der beiden Substanzen im Mensch zu erhalten. Wegen des deutlich meßbaren Hintergrundes an Bisphenol A, das in allen Kontrollproben nachweisbar war, wurde für die Humanstudie die deuterierte Verbindung gegeben, für die kein störender Hintergrund meßbar war. Die Bioverfügbarkeit der Gesamt-Substanz (freie Verbindung + Konjugate) im Menschen war in beiden Fällen deutlich höher als in der Ratte. Von Daidzein wurden 40 Prozent (Ratte 10 Prozent), von Bisphenol A > 95 Prozent (Ratte 13 Prozent) der applizierten Dosis im Urin der Probanden wiedergefunden. Dabei zeigte sich ein sehr effizienter Phase II-Metabolismus; weniger als 1 Prozent der Glucuronid-Konjugatkonzentrationen wurden als unveränderte Substanz gefunden. Das Glucuronid stellte in beiden Fällen den einzigen nachweisbaren Metaboliten dar. Die Elimination von Daidzein und Bisphenol A verlief in den beiden Studien sehr schnell nach einer Kinetik erster Ordnung. Im Gegensatz zu der Ratte konnten auch bei Bisphenol A keine Auffälligkeiten in den Ausscheidungskurven beobachtet werden, Hinweise auf einen enterohepatischen Kreislauf im Menschen wurden nicht gefunden. Im Falle von Bisphenol A wurde fast die komplette applizierte Dosis (> 95 Prozent) in Form des Glucuronides im Urin wiedergefunden. Anhand der erhobenen Daten wurde anschließend eine Beurteilung des Risikos für den Menschen abgegeben. / Daidzein and bisphenol a are two representatives of a class of substances known as endocrine disrupters. A common mark of these compounds is their affinity to at least one of two estrogen receptors in vitro. This leads to speculation on how such compounds may interfere with hormonal regulation in animals and humans. As an important representative of the group of phytoestrogens daidzein has been chosen. Daidzein occurs in high concentrations in plants like soy, thus contributing to a human exposure via food. Bisphenol a has been chosen for this thesis because it probably is the most important industrial chemical suspected of endocrine activity, considering worldwide annual production numbers. Biotransformation and kinetics of the two model substances, daidzein and bisphenol a, have been elucidated. The results showed that oral bioavailability of the two chemicals has been very low. Less than ten percent of the dose given could be recovered from urine of animals. The major metabolite in biotransformation of both daidzein and bisphenol a proved to be the glucuronide of the respective compound. Additionally, after application of daidzein to rats, daidzein sulfate could be identified specifically in male animals only. The percentage of unconjugated parent compound in both studies has been shown to be between one and three percent of the dose given. No further metabolites could be found after oral administration of bpa to rats; after oral administration of daidzein to rats, equol and o-dma could be identified as minor metabolites in feces of animals. In both studies, the major part of the administered dose could be recovered as unchanged parent compound from feces. In the case of BPA, elimination was slowed by the occurence of enterohepatic circulation. This explains why the elimination of BPA and its conjugates was slow and did not follow a first-order kinetics. Furthermore, sensitive analytical methods (HPLC and GC/MS) were developed to allow quantification of low amounts of the two model compounds in human plasma und urine samples. To obtain information on the biotransformation and toxicokinetics in humans, volunteers were given 5 mg of either daidzein or d16-bisphenol a. Because of a rather high background for bisphenol a in control samples, deuterated bisphenol a had been chosen for the human study. Bioavailability of total substance (i.e. unconjugated + conjugated compound) in humans was markedly higher than in rats. After controlled exposure to daidzein 40 per cent (as compared to 10 per cent in rats) could be recovered from urine, in the case of d16-bpa more than 95 per cent (as compared to 13 per cent in rats) could be recovered. Less than 1 per cent of the concentration of the conjugated compound could be found as unchanged parent compound. In both cases, the glucuronide has been identified as sole metabolite in human volunteers. Elimination of both substances was quick and followed a first order kinetics. In the case of d16-bisphenol a, all of the given dose could be recovered from urine. With the data gathered, an assessment of the risk posed by these chemicals to humans was given.

Chemical investigation of the transformation of the crucifer phytoalexins brassinin, brassilexin and camalexin by the phytopathogenic fungus <i>Alternaria brassicicola</i> was carried out. The objectives of this study included:<p> 1) the isolation and characterization of the metabolites of biotransformation of brassinin, brassilexin and camalexin by <i>A. brassicicola</i>;<p> 2) determination of the antifungal activity of these phytoalexins and their metabolites against <i>A. brassicicola.</i><p> The phytoalexins were synthesized and characterized using HPLC retention time tR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, LC-MS and HRMS-ESI data. The metabolites of the biotransformation were also synthesized and characterized similarly. The metabolism of each phytoalexin and their metabolites was studied by analyzing broth extracts by HPLC. The percent inhibition of growth of <i>A. brassicicola</i> was determined by radial growth mycelial assays.<p> The biotransformation of brassinin by <i>A. brassicicola</i> afforded Nb-acetyl-3-indolylmethylamine via indole-3-methylamine intermediate. Brassilexin was metabolized to 3-(amino)methyleneindoline-2-thione by the reduction of the isothiazole ring. Camalexin did not appear to be metabolized or the metabolism was very slow. The results of biotransformation and bioassay studies established that the metabolism of brassinin by <i>A. brassicicola</i> was a detoxification process. However, these studies using brassilexin did not provide a rigorous conclusion. Camalexin showed strong inhibition of growth against <i>A. brassicicola</i> suggesting its importance in defense against this pathogen.