ABSTRACT
Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a widely spread nephrotoxic food contaminant mycotoxin. Unfortunately, attenuation or prevention of the toxic effects of OTA is still an unresolved problem. Molecular inclusion of OTA by cyclodextrins (CDs) results in complexes with low stability. In the human organism, OTA exists mostly in the dianionic state (OTA(2-)). Therefore, our major goal was to develop a chemically modified cyclodextrin which gives a more stable complex with OTA than the previously published derivatives and which shows stronger preference towards OTA(2-). In our fluorescence spectroscopic study we demonstrate that quaternary ammonium beta-cyclodextrin (QABCD) fulfils both of these requirements. The calculated stability constant of the QABCD-OTA(2-) complex was 28,840 M(-1) (about 200-fold higher than that of the ß-CD-OTA(2-) complex). We hypothesize, that QABCD may be a suitable tool for the decontamination of different OTA-contaminated drinks; furthermore, for alleviation of the toxic effects of OTA, such complex formation may reduce its absorption from the intestine.
