The involvement of oxidative stress in ochratoxin A and fumonisin B1 toxicity in rats.

The aim of this study was to find out whether very low doses of nephrotoxic and hepatotoxic mycotoxins ochratoxin A (OTA) and fumonisin B1 (FB1) induce oxidative stress in rat kidney and liver and whether their effect is synergistic. Rats were treated orally with OTA (5 ng/kg b.w. and 50 microg/kg b.w.) and FB1 (200 ng/kg b.w. and 50 microg/kg b.w.), or their combinations. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyls (PCs) concentration in kidney was affected with lower dose of OTA than in liver (p<0.05). FB1 did not affect MDA and PCs concentrations in the liver, while in the kidney both FB1 doses increased MDA concentration (p<0.05). The combination of the lower doses of OTA+FB1 increased the MDA and PCs concentration both in the liver and the kidney, compared to controls and animals treated with respective doses of mycotoxins (p<0.05). The combinations of mycotoxins reduced the catalase activity only in the kidney when compared to controls (p<0.05). In contrast to the increased kidney concentrations of MDA and PCs even with very low doses of OTA and FB1, the activity of catalase and SOD does not change. Combinations of OTA+FB1 affected almost all parameters, which indicates their potential to produce oxidative damage.