[Process of fumigatin and spinulosin formation by Aspergillus fumigatus Fres and polarographic assay of these toxins (author's transl)].

A strain of Aspergillus fumigatus (Fresenius) isolated from a milk food for calves was grown on a culture medium containing added saccharose. The purpose was to study the synthesis of two recently discovered mycotoxins, fumigatin and spinulosin. The work was performed under many different conditions of temperature, pH and inoculum. These mycotoxins were measured by analytical differential pulse polarography. Correlations were observed between the growth rate of A. fumigatus and variation in pH of the medium and the formation of fumigatin, which is only possible when pH falls to less than 4.0. Fumigatin appears promptly at the beginning of the growth phase of the fungus but quickly disappears. The production of metabolite depends on limited conditions of culture. Spinulosin, very similar to fumigatin, is substituted for fumigatin in slightly different conditions. During growth, the fungus degrades both metabolites. The nature of the substitution and the reason of these modifications have not been investigated. Fumigatin and spinulosin formation is observed in both toxigenic and non-toxigenic strains.