Insights into pH-dependent transformation of gibberellic acid in aqueous solution:Transformation pathway,mechanism and toxicity estimation

Gibberellic acid(GA_(3))is widely used in agriculture and maybe transfer with groundwater flow,which is an endocrine disruptor,but few studies have focused on the transformation pathway and toxicity assessment of GA_(3)and its products.Here,GA_(3)and its transformation products in aqueous solution were identified and quantified by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry hybrid ion trap time-of-flight(LCMS-IT-TOF)and high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC),respectively.The results showed that the half-life of GA_(3)transformation in ultrapure water was 16.1–24.6 days at p H=2.0–8.0,with the lowest half-life occurring at p H=8.0 and highest half-life occurring at p H=3.3.Isomerized gibberellic acid(Iso-GA_(3))and gibberellenic acid(GEA)were the main transformation products with a little hydroxy gibberellic acid(OH-GA_(3)).In North China groundwater,the mass balance of GA_(3)and its products was 76.2%,including Iso-GA_(3)(58%),GEA(7.9%),GA_(3)(7.3%)and OH-GA_(3)(3%)after reaching transformation equilibrium.Using Gaussian 09 for chemical computation,it was found that the transformation mechanism of GA_(3)was dependent upon the bond energy and the stereochemical feature of its molecular structure.GA_(3)always isomerized from theγ-lactone ring due to the lowest bond energy between the oxygen terminus of theγ-lactone ring and A ring.While GA_(3)and its transformation products all had developmental toxicity,the predicated LC 50(96 hr)and LD 50 of the main products of GA_(3)were much lower than those of GA_(3),indicating GA_(3)would be transformed into higher toxicity derivatives in water environments,posing a significant health risk to humans and the environment.