A Study of Ochratoxin Toxicity in Hens

OCHRATOXIN, a mold metabolite, was first isolated and characterized from Aspergillus ochraceus (van der Merwe et al., 1965a) and subsequently was reported formed from Penicillium viridicutum (van Walbeek et al., 1969) and other species of the Aspergillus ochraceus group [A. melleus, A. quercinus, and A. sulphureus (Lai et al., 1968 and 1970), including A. alliaceus (Semeniuk, unpublished)]. The toxin is represented by three similar compounds of which ochratoxin A (C20 H18 O6 NCl) is the most toxic and abundant. The molds producing the toxin are widely distributed in soil and decaying organic matter and frequently are associated with molding feed. The toxin has been found in some samples of commercial corn (Shotwell et al., 1968, 1969) and wheat (Scott et al., 1970). Limited reports are available regarding the toxicity of ochratoxin, van der Merwe et al. (1965b) reported acute toxicity and death by feeding several levels of ochratoxin in excess of 100 mg.…