ABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a toxic secondary metabolite of fungi belonging to the Aspergillus and Penicillium genera, its presence in human blood being the primary indicator of exposure. AIM: In the present study we determined OTA in 38 blood samples collected from healthy Romanian subjects of both genders. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The OTA was determined through the direct, competitive, solid-phase immunoenzymatic method; the minimum quantification limit for determining OTA in serum samples was 0.0289 ng/mL. RESULTS: The positive sample percentage was 100%. OTA concentrations varied between < 0.04 ng/mL and 1 ng/mL. There were no significant differences between OTA concentrations in men versus women (0.24 +/- 0.20 ng/mL versus 0.17 +/- 0.15 ng/mL, p = 0.3527). CONCLUSIONS: The analyzed blood samples exhibit a very high degree of exposure to OTA, but in only approximately 10% of the subjects exceeded 0.5 ng/mL, considered the threshold for OTA-induced renal pathology.
