Aspartame prevents the karyomegaly induced by ochratoxin A in rat kidney

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin produced by Aspergillus ochraceus as well as other moulds. This mycotoxin contaminates animal feed and food. OTA is immunosuppressive, genotoxic, teratogenic, carcinogenic and is nephrotoxic in all animal species studied so far. OTA inhibits protein synthesis and in duces lipid peroxidation. Since it seems impossible to avoid completely con tamination of foodstuffs by toxigenic fungi, it is necessary to investigate the possible ways of limiting such toxicity. An attempt to prevent OTA-ind uced nephrotoxic and genotoxic effects, mainly the karyomegaly, has been ma de in vivo using aspartame (L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester), a str uctural analogue of both OTA and phenylalanine. Aspartame (25 mg/kg body we ight) prevented most of the nephrotoxic effects induced by OTA (289 mug/kg body weight). It also showed some utility in preventing morphological and h istological damage, mainly the karyomegaly. The protective effects of aspar tame on OTA-induced nephrotoxicity could be based on several mechanisms rel ated to competitive binding to plasma proteins, to transport or tissue dist ribution in the kidney or to the elimination of the toxin in the urine.