Monitoring of ochratoxin A exposure of the Portuguese population through a nationwide urine survey - Winter 2007

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2010

Authors

Duarte, S (Author) Other; Bento, J (Author) Other; Pena, A (Author) Other; Lino, CM (Author) Other; Delerue Matos, C (Author) Other; Oliva Teles, T (Author) Other; Morais, S (Author) Other; Correia, M (Author) Other; Oliveira, MBPP (Author) FFUP; Alves, MR (Author) Other; Pereira, JA (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Science of the Total Environment

Vol. 408 No. 23

Pages: 1195-1198

ISSN: 0048-9697

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 24 Citations

Scopus - 28 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Natural sciences > Earth and related Environmental sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-003-9M2

DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.11.048

Abstract (EN): Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin produced by a variety of fungi, such as Penicillium verrucosum and Aspergillium spp., which has been found to have a wide number of potentially deadly toxic effects, and can enter the human organism through a variety of means. It then finds its way into the bloodstream and, after a lengthy process, is eventually excreted through the urine. It can thus be detected in its original form not only in blood samples but also in this biological medium. As such, and in an attempt to evaluate the exposure of the Portuguese population to this mycotoxin, morning urine samples were collected during the Winter of 2007, from each of five geographically distinct Portuguese locations - Braganca, Porto, Coimbra, Alentejo, and Algarve - and subjected to extraction by immunoaffinity columns and to OTA quantification through liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detection. Prevalent incidence was higher than 95% with Coimbra being the exception (incidence of 73.3%). In nearly all locations, the OTA content of most samples was found to be above the limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.008 ng/ml. Indeed, excluding Coimbra, with an OTA content level of 0.014 ng/ml, all regions featured content values over 0.021 ng/ml.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 4