α-Zearalenol, a Major Hepatic Metabolite in Rats of Zearalenone, an Estrogenic Mycotoxin of Fusarium Species1

Abstract

The chemical and biological properties of the hepatic metabolite of zearalenone, an estrogenic and non-steroidal fungal toxin produced by Fusarium species, were investigated by employing TLC, GC/MS, high pressure liquid chromatography and fluorospectral analyses, as well as uterine weight bioassay in immature mice. All the chemical and physical data supported the view that the major metabolite, obtained by incubating zearalenone with S-9 and microsomes of rat liver in the presence of NADPH, is C-6'-α-hydroxylated zearalenone (α-zearalenol). The estrogenic activity of this metabolite was several times higher than that of the parent zearalenone, and the results of biological and toxicological evaluations of α-zearalenol are discussed.