The involvement of oxidative stress in ochratoxin A and fumonisin B 1 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 B 1 (FB 1 ) 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 μg/kg b.w.) and FB 1 (200 ng/kg b.w. and 50 μg/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). FB 1 did not affect MDA and PCs concentrations in the liver, while in the kidney both FB 1 doses increased MDA concentration ( p < 0.05). The combination of the lower doses of OTA + FB 1 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 FB 1 , the activity of catalase and SOD does not change. Combinations of OTA + FB 1 affected almost all parameters, which indicates their potential to produce oxidative damage.