title: Ochratoxin A levels in human serum and foods from nephropathy patients in Tunisia: where are you now?
abstract: Ochratoxin A is a natural mycotoxin with nephrotoxic properties that can contaminate food products. It has been detected in high amount in human serum collected from nephropathy patients, especially those categorized as having a chronic interstitial nephropathy of unknown etiology. In the present study, ochratoxin A levels were measured in commonly consumed food items and in serum samples from nephropathy and healthy subjects in Tunisia. To assess ochratoxin A, a high performance liquid chromatography method was optimized. The ochratoxin A assay showed very different scales of ochratoxin A serum and food contamination from 0.12 to 1.5 ng/mL and 0.11 to 6.1 ng/g respectively, and in healthy subjects and 0.11 to 33.8 ng/g for food and 0.12 to 3.8 ng/mL for serum in nephropathy patients suffering from chronic interstitial nephropathy of unknown etiology. The disease seems related to ochratoxin A serum levels and food contaminations, since the healthy group was significantly different from the nephropathy group (P<0.001) for both food and serum ochratoxin A contamination. Those results combined with data published already, emphasize the likely endemic aspect of ochratoxin A-related nephropathy occurring in Tunisia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Military Hospital of Tunis, Montfleury, Tunis 1008, Tunisia. azziz_mk@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hmaissia Khlifa
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ghali
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mazigh
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Aouni
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Machgoul
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hedhili
mesh_terms: D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009183:Mycotoxins / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis; D009793:Ochratoxins / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis*; D014416:Tunisia / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D009183:Mycotoxins; D009793:Ochratoxins; C025589:ochratoxin A