Transformation of benzoxazinones and derivatives and microbial activity in the test environment of soil ecotoxicological tests on Poecilus cupreus and Folsomia candida.

Benzoxazinones, such as 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one (DIMBOA) and 2,4-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one (DIBOA), and benzoxazolinones, such as 6-methoxy-2-benzoxazolinone (MBOA) and 2-benzoxazolinone (BOA), are biologically active secondary metabolites found in cereals. Because these compounds could be exploited as part of a strategy for reducing the use of synthetic pesticides, ecotoxicological tests were performed recently. In this paper, the transformation of the compounds in the test environment of the ecotoxicological tests was studied. DIMBOA was degraded and partly transformed to MBOA during the period of ecotoxicological testing of the compounds. During testing of MBOA on Poecilus cupreus test media the analysis showed that at the initial concentrations of 2 and 10 mg kg(-1) no MBOA was left after 45 days of testing, but the metabolite 2-amino-phenoxazin-3-one (AMPO) was formed. During testing of BOA on both Folsomia candida and Poecilus cupreus the more biologically active compound 2-amino-phenoxazin-3-one (APO) was formed. Thus, the ecotoxicological test results on MBOA and BOA were partly due to the microbial transformation of the compounds during the time of testing.