Abstract
Ochratoxin A (OTA), a potent mycotoxin, is a common contaminant of agro-products, which seriously threatens food safety. The OTA regulatory limits vary from different countries/regions. However, little is known about the toxicological effects of successive exposure to regulatory levels of OTA. In this study, feedstuffs contaminated with 0.5-20 μg kg-1 OTA were evaluated in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. During the study, poisoning-associated behaviors, and significant differences of body weight and food intake, were not observed between OTA-treated rats and control group. However, the renal function indexes of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (CR) increased, and architecture destruction of glomeruli and tubuli was observed from the OTA-treated groups. The apoptosis study indicated that at a concentration of 20 μg kg-1, OTA modulated apoptosis in renal tissues via the Bcl-2/Bax pathway. The results of this study suggest that exposure to low doses of OTA successively at levels lower than the regulatory limits of certain countries could induce nephrotoxicity, and modulate apoptosis. Therefore, agencies pertaining to food safety should establish strict OTA regulatory limits for food and feedstuff.