Metabolism of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene by Cunninghamella elegans.

The metabolites of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA), a carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, in cultures of Cunninghamella elegans were isolated by high-pressure liquid chromatography and characterized by UV spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The major metabolites were DMBA-trans-8,9-dihydrodiol and DMBA-trans-3,4-dihydrodiol. The 7-hydroxymethyl and the 12-hydroxymethyl derivatives of these dihydrodiol metabolites were also formed. The metabolic profile described in this report contrasts with those obtained in our earlier experiments in which the incubation of DMBA with Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Penicillium notatum produced no dihydrodiol metabolites but only methyl-hydroxylated metabolites.