disease may still occur in any part of the world ravaged by war and
famine.
Three of the most important mycotoxins, aflatoxin, ochratoxin and T-2
toxin, are immunosuppressive but react differently against the immune
system. All three inhibit protein biosynthesis, aflatoxin by inhibiting
transcription, ochratoxin by inhibiting phenylalanyl tRNA synthetase,
and T-2 toxin by inhibiting translation through binding with a specific site
on the eukaryote ribosome. One consequence of these distinct modes of
activity is that mixtures of such mycotoxins are likely to be synergistic in
activity and this has been shown experimentally in the case of aflatoxin
and T-2 toxin. This observation is significant in the context of the
probability that a food which has gone mouldy will probably be infected
Figure 8.15 Trichothecenes. (a) T-2 toxin, (b) deoxynivalenol, and (c) verrucarin A
Table 8.4 Some LD 50 values for T-2 toxin
Species LD 50 (mg kg^1 )
Mouse 5.2 (intraperitoneal)
Rat 5.2 (oral)
Guinea pig 3.1 (oral)
7-Day-old chick 4.0 (oral)
Trout 6.1 (oral)Chapter 8 293