{{short description|Group of chemical compounds}} {{refimprove|date=March 2015}} '''Ochratoxins''' are a group of mycotoxins produced by some ''Aspergillus'' species (mainly ''A. ochraceus'' and A. ''carbonarius'', but also by 33% of ''A. niger'' industrial strains) and some ''Penicillium'' species, especially ''P. verrucosum''. Ochratoxin A is the most prevalent and relevant fungal toxin of this group, while ochratoxins B and C are of lesser importance.
Ochratoxin A is known to occur in commodities such as cereals, coffee, dried fruit, and red wine. It is possibly a human carcinogen and is of special interest as it can be accumulated in the meat of animals. Exposure to ochratoxins through diet can cause acute toxicity in mammalian kidneys. Exposure to ochratoxin A has been associated with Balkan endemic nephropathy, a kidney disease with high mortality in people living near tributaries of the Danube River in Eastern Europe.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pfohl-Leszkowicz A, Manderville RA|date=2007|title=Ochratoxin A: An overview on toxicity and carcinogenicity in animals and humans|journal=Mol Nutr Food Res|volume=51|issue=1 |pages=61–99|doi=10.1002/mnfr.200600137 |pmid=17195275 }}</ref>
It has been suggested that carriers of alleles associated with phenylketonuria (PKU) may have been protected from spontaneous abortion caused by ochratoxin exposure, providing a heterozygous advantage for the alleles despite the possibility of severe intellectual disability in the more rare instance of inheritance from both parents.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.omim.org/entry/261600?search=phenylketonuria&highlight=phenylketonuria|title= #261600 ICD+ PHENYLKETONURIA; PKU|publisher=Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man}}</ref><ref>Woolf, L. I. "The heterozygote advantage in phenylketonuria." (Letter) ''Am. J. Hum. Genet.'' 38: 773-775, 1986.</ref> The high prevalence of the recessive alleles that cause PKU in certain populations is likely evidence of historic heterozygous advantage in these population, but there is very little evidence of the ochratoxin hypothesis. Other selective pressures such as malaria may also explain the observed allelic frequencies <ref>{{cite journal |last1=Oussalah |first1=A |last2=Jeannesson-Thivisol |first2=E |last3=Chéry |first3=C |last4=Perrin |first4=P |last5=Rouyer |first5=P |last6=Josse |first6=T |last7=Cano |first7=A |last8=Barth |first8=M |last9=Fouilhoux |first9=A |last10=Mention |first10=K |last11=Labarthe |first11=F |last12=Arnoux |first12=JB |last13=Maillot |first13=F |last14=Lenaerts |first14=C |last15=Dumesnil |first15=C |last16=Wagner |first16=K |last17=Terral |first17=D |last18=Broué |first18=P |last19=De Parscau |first19=L |last20=Gay |first20=C |last21=Kuster |first21=A |last22=Bédu |first22=A |last23=Besson |first23=G |last24=Lamireau |first24=D |last25=Odent |first25=S |last26=Masurel |first26=A |last27=Rodriguez-Guéant |first27=RM |last28=Feillet |first28=F |last29=Guéant |first29=JL |last30=Namour |first30=F |title=Population and evolutionary genetics of the PAH locus to uncover overdominance and adaptive mechanisms in phenylketonuria: Results from a multiethnic study. |journal=EBioMedicine |date=January 2020 |volume=51 |article-number=102623 |doi=10.1016/j.ebiom.2019.102623 |pmid=31923802|pmc=7000351 }}</ref>.
<gallery> File:Ochratoxin A structure.png|Ochratoxin A File:Ochratoxin B.png|Ochratoxin B File:Ochratoxin C.png|Ochratoxin C File:Ochratoxin TA.svg|Ochratoxin TA </gallery>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Commonscatinline|Ochratoxins}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070824043511/http://www.knowmycotoxins.com/vpig.htm Extensive information about mycotoxins and animal feed]
{{Toxins}}
Category:Mycotoxins Ochratoxin Category:Isochromenes