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Ochratoxins are a group ofmycotoxins produced by someAspergillus species (mainlyA. ochraceus and A.carbonarius, but also by 33% ofA. niger industrial strains) and somePenicillium species, especiallyP. verrucosum.Ochratoxin A is the most prevalent and relevant fungal toxin of this group, while ochratoxins B and C are of lesser importance.
Ochratoxin A is known to occur in commodities such as cereals, coffee, dried fruit, and red wine. It is possibly a humancarcinogen and is of special interest as it can be accumulated in the meat of animals. Exposure to ochratoxins through diet can cause acute toxicity in mammalian kidneys. Exposure to ochratoxin A has been associated with Balkan endemic nephropathy, a kidney disease with high mortality in people living near tributaries of the Danube River in Eastern Europe.[1]
It has been suggested that carriers ofalleles associated withphenylketonuria may have been protected fromspontaneous abortion caused by ochratoxin exposure, providing aheterozygous advantage for the alleles despite the possibility of severe intellectual disability in the more rare instance of inheritance from both parents.[2][3]
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