Volume 91, Issue 4, April (2004), pp. 507-512 © The Author 2004
doi:10.1079/BJN20041092

Short communication

Evaluation of the protective effects of α-tocopherol and retinol against ochratoxin A cytotoxicity

A. Baldi¹, M. N. Losio², F. Cheli¹, R. Rebucci¹, L. Sangalli¹, E. Fusi¹, B. Bertasi², E. Pavoni², S. Carli¹ and I. Politis^3
1Department of Veterinary Sciences and Technology for Food Safety, Veterinary Medicine Faculty, 20133 , Milan, Italy
²Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale (IZS) della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna, 25100 , Brescia, Italy
³Department of Animal Production, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece, 11855

 (Received 8 September 2003–Revised 18 December 2003–Accepted 5 January 2004)

Ochratoxin A (OTA), a mycotoxin frequently present in food and feedstuffs, produces a wide range of toxic effects, including cell death via lipid peroxidation. In one human and four animal cell lines we determined the half lethal concentration (LC₅₀) of OTA, its effect on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and its ability to induce cytochrome p450 activity. We also examined the protective effect of α-tocopherol and all-trans-retinol in the most sensitive cell lines (i.e. bovine mammary epithelia, for which LC₅₀ was 0·8μg/ml (24h), and Madin Darby canine kidney, for which LC₅₀ was 4·3μg/ml (48h)). Pre-incubation for 3h with either antioxidant significantly (P<0·05) ameliorated the OTA-induced reduction in cell viability and significantly decreased (P<0·05) ROS production. These findings indicate that oxidative stress is an important factor in OTA cytotoxicity. Supplementation with antioxidant molecules may counteract the short-term toxicity of this mycotoxin.

Keywords:
Ochratoxin A, Antioxidants, Cell cultures, Reactive oxygen specie

Abbreviations:
AML-12, mouse liver hepatocytes-12 cell line, BME-UV1, bovine mammary epithelium cell line, Cyp 1A1, cytochrome p450 1A1, LC₅₀, half lethal concentration, LLC-PK1, pig kidney cell line, MDCK, Madin Darby canine kidney cell line, MTT, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazoliumbromide, OTA, ochratoxin A, ROS, reactive oxygen species