Ochratoxin A in blood and its pharmacokinetic properties

Since there are pathomorphological similarities between porcine mycotoxic nephropathy caused by ochratoxin A and Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN), it has been suggested that the same aetiological agent has a role in BEN. Based on the results from several field and experimental studies carried out on pigs, an appropriate analytical method of monitoring possible human exposure to ochratoxin A was developed. The toxicokinetic properties of the toxin were species specific, although in all the animal species studied (with the exception of fish), as well as in humans, two binding proteins were found in the plasma. The monkey had the longest elimination half-life of the toxin, 510 hr, in contrast to the fish whose elimination half-life was only 0.68 hr. The fish kidney displayed a specific pattern of distribution. In the laying quail the most prominent observation was the accumulation of labelled ochratoxin A in egg yolk. Generally, [14C]ochratoxin A was eliminated rapidly from the quail body, but had a long retention time in the circulating blood in the mouse. Although the elimination of ochratoxin A from the body depending on its binding to plasma constituents, the existence of enterohepatic circulation might have been partially responsible for its prolonged retention and elimination from the body of mammals. The toxicokinetic profile of ochratoxin A did not contradict the mycotoxic hypothesis in the aetiology of BEN.