react with DNA. Those animals which not only produce the epoxide but
effectively remove it with a hydrolase enzyme, thus producing a very
reactive hydroxyacetal, are most sensitive to the acute toxicity. The
hydroxyacetal is known to react with the lysine residues in proteins.
It is now known that aflatoxin B1 epoxide reacts rather specifically
with guanine residues of DNA at a number of hot spots, one of which is
Figure 8.10 Metabolites of aflatoxin B1
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