Figure 3.

In vivo effects of ZEN and microbial detoxification approaches. (A) ZEN possesses estrogenic properties which in turn affect the endocrine and reproductive systems of animals. (B) Transformation of ZEN to α-ZEL or β-ZEL by microorganisms. The C7-carbonyl oxygen is reduced to an alcohol stereospecifically (red). The enzyme(s) responsible for catalyzing this reaction have not been isolated and identified. (C) ZEN can be hydrolyzed by lactone hydrolases followed by spontaneous decarboxylation to produce DHZEN. (D) Transformation of ZEN to ZOM-1 was postulated to occur in two steps. The first step could potentially be catalyzed by a Baeyer-Villiger type monooxygenase. The lactone product can then be hydrolyzed to ZOM-1.