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Aspartame prevents the karyomegaly induced by ochratoxin A in rat kidney

  • Organ Toxicity and Mechanisms
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Abstract.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin produced by Aspergillus ochraceus as well as other moulds. This mycotoxin contaminates animal feed and food. OTA is immunosuppressive, genotoxic, teratogenic, carcinogenic and is nephrotoxic in all animal species studied so far. OTA inhibits protein synthesis and induces lipid peroxidation. Since it seems impossible to avoid completely contamination of foodstuffs by toxigenic fungi, it is necessary to investigate the possible ways of limiting such toxicity. An attempt to prevent OTA-induced nephrotoxic and genotoxic effects, mainly the karyomegaly, has been made in vivo using aspartame (L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester), a structural analogue of both OTA and phenylalanine. Aspartame (25 mg/kg body weight) prevented most of the nephrotoxic effects induced by OTA (289 µg/kg body weight). It also showed some utility in preventing morphological and histological damage, mainly the karyomegaly. The protective effects of aspartame on OTA-induced nephrotoxicity could be based on several mechanisms related to competitive binding to plasma proteins, to transport or tissue distribution in the kidney or to the elimination of the toxin in the urine.

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  1. Laboratoire de Toxicologie et d'Hygiène Appliquée, UFR des Sciences Pharmaceutiques, Université Victor Segalen, Bordeaux 2, 33076 Bordeaux CEDEX, France, , , , ,

    ,  ,   & 

  2. Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Ksaverska 2, PO Box 291, 41001 Zagreb, Croatia, , , , ,

  3. Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Abidjan, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, , , , ,

  4. Département de Biochimie et de Biologie Cellulaire, FAST, Université Nationale du Bénin, 04 BP 320, Cotonou, Bénin, , , , ,

  5. Division of Research Development, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch 7600, Republic of South Africa, , , , ,

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, ., , ., , . et al. Aspartame prevents the karyomegaly induced by ochratoxin A in rat kidney. Arch Toxicol 75, 176–183 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002040100229

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002040100229

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