Rădulescu Andreea-Luminița, Popescu Roua Gabriela, Balas Mihaela, Marinescu George Cătălin, Dinischiotu Anca
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, 050095 Bucharest, Romania.
Independent Research Association, 012416 Bucharest, Romania.
Toxins (Basel). 2025 May 30;17(6):274. doi: 10.3390/toxins17060274.
Food security and food safety are major aspects for human and animal health, yet mycotoxins contaminate 60-80% of food crops before and after harvest, elevating the risk of chronic toxicity and cancer development. This study investigates the potential of ferulic acid (FA) as an antioxidant against mycotoxin-induced oxidative stress in Caco-2 cells exposed to aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and ochratoxin A (OTA) for 24 and 48 h. The effects on the degree of lipid peroxidation and non-enzymatic and enzymatic mechanisms against oxidative stress were evaluated. FA appears to mitigate oxidative stress by modulating lipid and protein oxidation, decreasing the level of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE), increasing superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and preserving thiol groups by scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS). Additionally, the reduction in polyubiquitinated Nrf2 level, and higher SOD activity, suggest that FA stabilizes Nrf2, delaying its degradation and reinforcing its antioxidant role. These findings indicate that FA partially counteracts mycotoxin-induced oxidative damage, highlighting the need for further investigation into its long-term effects.
粮食安全和食品安全是关乎人类和动物健康的重要方面，然而，霉菌毒素在收获前后会污染60%-80%的粮食作物，增加了慢性毒性和癌症发生的风险。本研究调查了阿魏酸（FA）作为抗氧化剂，对暴露于黄曲霉毒素B1（AFB1）和赭曲霉毒素A（OTA）24小时和48小时的Caco-2细胞中霉菌毒素诱导的氧化应激的潜在作用。评估了其对脂质过氧化程度以及针对氧化应激的非酶和酶促机制的影响。FA似乎通过调节脂质和蛋白质氧化、降低4-羟基壬烯醛（4-HNE）水平、增加超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）活性以及通过清除活性氧（ROS）来保护硫醇基团，从而减轻氧化应激。此外，多聚泛素化Nrf2水平的降低以及较高的SOD活性表明，FA可稳定Nrf2，延迟其降解并增强其抗氧化作用。这些发现表明，FA可部分抵消霉菌毒素诱导的氧化损伤，凸显了对其长期影响进行进一步研究的必要性。
