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In vitro and in vivo metabolism of ochratoxin A: a comparative study using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight hybrid mass spectrometry

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Abstract

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin that frequently contaminates a wide variety of food and feedstuffs. The metabolism of OTA greatly affects fate and toxicity in humans and animals, because of its possible carcinogenic character (International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), group 2B). To completely characterize the metabolites of OTA, the metabolism of OTA in liver microsomes of rats, chickens, swine, goats, cows, and humans was investigated using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight hybrid mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q/TOF-MS). In addition, an in vivo comparative metabolism study of OTA was performed among rats and chickens after oral administration of OTA. As a result, a clear metabolic profile of OTA in different species was proposed, and a total of eight metabolites were identified, of which three hydroxylated metabolites at the phenylalanine moiety were discovered for the first time (preliminarily identified as 9′-OH-OTA, 7′-OH-OTA, and 5′-OH-OTA). Considerable amounts of 7′-OH-OTA were detected in different species’ liver microsomes, especially in chickens and humans. Moreover, the metabolism of OTA in chickens was elucidated for the first time in the present study. The 7′-OH-OTA proved to be the main metabolite in vitro and in vivo in chickens. Furthermore, the 4(S)-OH-OTA isomer was the major one, and 4(R)-OH-OTA the minor metabolite in chickens, which was different from others where 4R was the major. OTA undergoes metabolism via three different pathways, namely hydroxylation, dechlorination, and conjugation. The proposed metabolic pathways of OTA in various species provide the scientific community useful data for the toxicological safety evaluation of OTA among different species, and will further facilitate the food safety evaluation of OTA.

In Vitro and in Vivo Metabolism of Ochratoxin A: A Comparative Study Using Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole/Time-of-Flight Hybrid Mass Spectrometry

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the International Science & Technology Cooperation Program of China (2012DFG31840) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U1301214 and 31372475). Furthermore, the authors would like to acknowledge **aoli Song, Chenglong Li, Ying Wang, Haixia Wu, Kaili Liu, and Lu Zhang for their practical work.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflicting financial interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Bei**g Laboratory for Food Quality and Safety, Bei**g Key Laboratory of Detection Technology for Animal-Derived Food Safety, National Reference Laboratory of Veterinary Drug Residues, Bei**g, 100193, China

    Shupeng Yang, Huiyan Zhang, Feifei Sun, Suxia Zhang, **ngyuan Cao & Zhanhui Wang

  2. Laboratory of Food Analysis, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Sarah De Saeger & Marthe De Boevre

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  1. Shupeng Yang
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  2. Huiyan Zhang
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  3. Sarah De Saeger
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Correspondence to Zhanhui Wang.

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Shupeng Yang and Huiyan Zhang contributed equally to this work.

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Yang, S., Zhang, H., De Saeger, S. et al. In vitro and in vivo metabolism of ochratoxin A: a comparative study using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight hybrid mass spectrometry. Anal Bioanal Chem 407, 3579–3589 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-015-8570-0

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