COMPARISON OF IN-VITRO AND IN-VIVO BIOLOGICAL-ACTIVITY OF MYCOTOXINS

In vitro assays developed to screen the cytotoxic activity of chemical s in murine (NIH/3T3) and bovine (BE 12-6) embryonic cells were used t o determine the concentrations (mug/ml) of mycotoxins which caused 50% lethality (LC50). Embryonic cells were seeded in 96 well plates, cult ured for 72 hr with dilutions of each individual and combinations of m ycotoxins, and stained and counted. Verrucarin A and roridin A had the strongest cytotoxic activity, and ergotamine tartrate was least toxic . Furthermore, results correlated with published values of in vivo act ivity, indicating this assay can be used for acute toxicity screening of compounds.