[Formation of peroxide compounds and their role in the inactivation of polyene antibiotics levorin and mycoheptin].

The kinetics of peroxide formation in the process of levorin and mycoheptin oxidation at a temperature of 57 degrees C was studied. It was shown that the peroxide compounds actively participated in the processes of levorin and mycoheptin inactivation as intermediate products of their transformation. Addition of the peroxides increased the rate of the antibiotic degradation even if there was no oxygen and subsequently decreased the periods of their storage. Conditions for the use of the iodometric method for determination of the peroxides in the poyenic compounds are discussed.