FUSARIC ACID INCREASES MELATONIN LEVELS IN THE WEANLING RAT AND IN PINEAL CELL-CULTURES

Fusaric acid (FA) is produced by several Fusarium species that commonl y infect cereal grains and other agricultural commodities. FA in the f eed of nursing dams is lactationally transferred to the suckling offsp ring and alters serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5HT) in the pineal gla nd of the neonate rat. 5HT is involved in melatonin (MEL) production b y the pineal gland. MEL is a hormone important in reproduction and sea sonality in animals. Therefore, the effects of FA on MEL in the serum and pineal gland of male and female 21-d-old weanling rats from dams o n an FA diet were studied. MEL was measured by enzyme-linked immunosor bent assay (ELISA), which was standardized for directly measuring MEL in rat serum and pineal homogenates. At 200 ppm in the diet of nursing dams, FA increased serum MEL in both sexes. Results obtained from ELI SA were supported by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) ana lysis with fluorescence detection. MEL analysis of the pineal gland ho mogenates by ELISA and HPLC supported observations in the serum. Analo gously, in pineal cell monolayer cultures, FA at 1 mu M and 100 mu M c oncentrations increased MEL in a dose-dependent manner as compared to the control cells. This is the first report that FA increases MEL in v ivo and in vitro and suggests that FA contamination of diets may affec t mechanisms involving MEL synthesis.