Estimation of ochratoxin A in the human blood of Romanian population

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a toxic secondary metabolite of fungi belonging to the Aspergillus and Penicillium genera, its presence in human blood being the primary indicator of exposure. In the present study we determined OTA in 38 blood samples collected from healthy Romanian subjects of both genders. The OTA was determined through the direct, competitive, solid-phase immunoenzymatic method; the minimum quantification limit for determining OTA in serum samples was 0.0289 ng/mL. The positive sample percentage was 100%. OTA concentrations varied between < 0.04 ng/mL and 1 ng/mL. There were no significant differences between OTA concentrations in men versus women (0.24 +/- 0.20 ng/mL versus 0.17 +/- 0.15 ng/mL, p = 0.3527). The analyzed blood samples exhibit a very high degree of exposure to OTA, but in only approximately 10% of the subjects exceeded 0.5 ng/mL, considered the threshold for OTA-induced renal pathology.