Isolation of a mycotoxin (gliotoxin) from a bovine udder infected with Aspergillus fumigatus.

A bovine udder infected with Aspergillus fumigatus was analysed by physico-chemical methods (thin layer chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography and direct exposure probe-mass spectrometry) for the presence of mycotoxins. Gliotoxin, a fungal metabolite with cytotoxic and immunosuppressive properties was isolated for the first time from naturally infected tissue. The gliotoxin concentration analysed (9.2 mg kg-1 udder) was approximately 100 times higher than the concentration known to produce morphological changes of cells. Gliotoxin may play an important role in the establishment and development of an infection with A fumigatus.