Microbial transformations of buagarofuran, an anti-anxietic agent

19 structurally diverse metabolites (2-20) were isolated from the transformation of buagarofuran (1), an anxiety agent, by three filamentous fungal strains, Cunninghamella echinulata AS 3.3402, Cunninghamella elegans AS 3.3400, and Absidia coerulea AS 3.3538. Their structures and identified on the basis of extensive spectroscopic data (HRMS, NMR, IR, and CD) and chemical methods. All of the metabolites were oxidized products of 1, and metabolite 20 was also one of mammalian metabolites. Metabolites 8, 10-12, and 20 significantly inhibited [3H]-NE re-uptake, and 8 and 9 strongly inhibited [3H]-5-HT re-uptake in the rat brain synaptosomes at 10 μM in vitro. The structural diversity of the microbial transformed metabolites of buagarofuran in the present report would give a favorable opportunity to probe its mammalian metabolism and better shed light on its pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in vivo.