Role of Lactone Ring in Structural, Electronic, and Reactivity Properties of Aflatoxin B1: A Theoretical Study

This study involved quantum mechanical calculations to explain the chemical behavior of the lactone ring of aflatoxin B1, which is a carcinogenic hazardous compound. The aflatoxin B1 compound, produced by the fungi Aspergillum flavus, was studied with the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) method; its reactivity properties were accounted for by means of the calculated geometrical and electronic parameters. The results obtained indicate that the fused A, B, C, and D rings of aflatoxin adopt a continuous planar conformation. The carbon atom of the lactone group presents a highly electrophilic character, since the population analysis yields a high positive charge for this atom, whereas high negative charges were recorded for both oxygen sites of that group. Thus, in an acidic aqueous medium, the oxygen atoms could be protonated and the carbon site may suffer a nucleophilic attack by water. Accordingly, the OC-O bond length has been lengthened substantially. So it was demonstrated that the lactonic ring of aflatoxin B1 is hydrolyzed under acidic conditions by an acid-acyl bimolecular mechanisms, A(AC)2, suggesting the deletion of its carcinogenic properties.