Abstract
Ochratoxin A (OTA) has been frequently found as a food contaminant, and it is considered one of the mycotoxins most harmful to human health. In this context, this study was performed aiming to evaluate mycelial growth and ochratoxin A production from three isolates of Aspergillus carbonarius and Aspergillus ochraceus. The isolates were inoculated on culture media coffee, wheat and maize as well as YES medium and cultivated at 15 and 25°C. Measurement of colony diameters was performed every 48 h for growth description. OTA quantification was made with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) three times (5th, 15th and 25th day). All the isolates presented higher growth rate in YES medium at 25°C; however, growth in every culture media at both tested temperatures was observed. The maize-based medium showed the lowest growth rate. YES medium induced the most OTA production. In grain-based culture media, A. ochraceus isolates produced lower quantities of OTA, reaching a maximum of 9.95 µg/g. However, A. carbonarius isolates produced much higher quantities, showing the A. carbonarius CCDCA10608 isolate, which produced 29.83 µg/g at 15°C in YES medium and 13.06 in wheat-based medium at 15°C. Therefore, among the tested conditions, those more and less favorable to OTA production were recognized. Key words: Aspergillus, food, high performance liquid chromatography, mycotoxin, ochratoxin A.
Highlights
Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin with a high nephrotoxicity potential, besides showing hepatotoxicity, teratogenicity, carcinogenicity, cytotoxicity, neurotoxicity and immunosuppressive properties (Woo et al, 2012; Stachurska et al, 2013; Solcan et al, 2013; von Tobel et al, 2014; Gayathri et al, 2015; Calado et al, 2015)
It was believed that OTA was produced only by Aspergillus ochraceus and circumdatirelated species, as well as Penicillium verrucosum, though these species are not considered the main OTA sources in some food because OTA may be produced naturally by Aspergillus carbonarius (Van der Merwe et al, 1965; Horie, 1995, Lund and Frisvad, 2003; Schabo et al, 2015; Kogkaki et al, 2015), since 75-100% of the isolates were found to be ochratoxigenic (Romero et al, 2005)
The water activity and temperature are very important because they affect the growth and production of OTA (Pardo et al, 2005; Kapetanakou et al, 2009).in this study, the authors aimed to investigate the necessary conditions for growth and synthesis of OTA by A. carbonarius and A. ochraceus as well as their concentration in different food-based culture media
Summary
Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin with a high nephrotoxicity potential, besides showing hepatotoxicity, teratogenicity, carcinogenicity, cytotoxicity, neurotoxicity and immunosuppressive properties (Woo et al, 2012; Stachurska et al, 2013; Solcan et al, 2013; von Tobel et al, 2014; Gayathri et al, 2015; Calado et al, 2015). Interactions between mycotoxigenic species and other spoilage fungi can significantly influence ochratoxin A production (Lee and Magan, 2000).Several authors have studied the ability of A. ochraceus and A. carbonarius to produce OTA in coffee, maize and synthetic grape and barley medium under different environmental conditions (Pardo et al, 2005; Lee and Magan, 2000; Marín et al, 2006; Pardo et al, 2004; Garcia et al, 2011). The water activity and temperature are very important because they affect the growth and production of OTA (Pardo et al, 2005; Kapetanakou et al, 2009).in this study, the authors aimed to investigate the necessary conditions for growth and synthesis of OTA by A. carbonarius and A. ochraceus as well as their concentration in different food-based culture media
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