As part of a study of polycystic kidney disease (PKD), epithelial cells were isolated and propagated from cyst walls of human kidneys obtained at nephrectomy. A Penicillium species was found growing with the epithelial cells in some culture flasks. It was monoverticillate and somewhat resembled P. restrictum but differed morphologically from this and all other Penicillium species. Two strains of this fungus were isolated in pure culture and described as the new species Penicillium pimiteouiense. Ochratoxin A production was not detected in P. pimiteouiense. The role, if any, that this fungus plays in polycystic kidney disease is not known.

The evaluation of mycotoxin contamination can be undertaken at the national level using different strategies. In fact, a monitoring programme can be implemented through analyses carried out on samples taken both at retail and at bulk. A more recent approach is based on the analysis of biomarkers of exposure in biological fluids.In this paper, results obtained from the various approaches for aflatoxin and ochratoxin A contamination are reported. The food analysed included cereals and derived products, coffee, dried fruits, beer, olive oil and instant beverages. The incidence and level of AF contamination of food in Italy seems to be similar to other European countries while OA contamination and its impact on human health seems to be considerably higher in Italy.

Forty samples of maternal blood serum and their related placenta and funiculum were collected from 40 donors at delivery to evaluate the possibility of active ochratoxin A (OA) placental transport and the consequent foetal exposure to the toxin. The OA concentration range found in maternal serum was 0.11 ng/ml to 0.98 ng/ml (mean value: 0.59 +/-0.30 ng/ml) with an incidence of contamination of 39% (15 positive samples out of 40 analyzed).The OA concentration range in both tissues was 0.38 ng/g to 10.60 ng/g for placenta and 0.27 ng/g to 9.50 ng/g for funiculum. These results indicate the possibility of active OA placental transport and of the high levels of toxin that may reach the foetus during crucial prenatal development.

Ochratoxin A (OA) is a natural contaminant of a large variety of foods of plant and animal origin. Herein is reported the development of a capillary electrophoresis (CE) method for the quantification of OA in three very different commodities: roasted coffee, corn, and sorghum. The extraction and isolation procedures combine a silica column and an immunoaffinity cleanup column analogous to other chromatographic methods. After separation from interferences by CE, OA was exposed to light from an ultraviolet He/Cd laser, and the fluorescence of OA was measured [CE-laser-induced fluorescence (CE-LIF)]. When OA was added to several foods over the range 0.2-10 ng/g (ppb), the average recoveries were 86% for roasted coffee (SD = 12.2; n = 8), 99% for corn (SD = 10.1; n = 8), and 91% for sorghum (SD = 14.8; n = 4). Each instrumental analysis, after extraction and purification, required 13 min, equivalent to HPLC analysis. CE-LIF can be applied to the quantitation of OA in roasted coffee, corn, and sorghum, reducing organic solvent usage relative to HPLC.

In order to estimate the incidence of ochratoxin A (OA) in biological fluids, a study was carried out to determine the concentration of OA in breast milk of donor mothers in Italy. Out of 111 samples, 22 were contaminated in the range 0.1-12 micrograms/kg.

Ochratoxin A (OA) is a mycotoxin detected in a variety of food and feeds mostly from countries with temperate or continental climate, because the fungi that produce it, mainly Aspergillus ochraceus, Penicillium verrucosum, and Penicillium viridicatum, can grow under a great variety of climate conditions. The aim of this article was, firstly, to confirm the occurrence of OA in human milk in Italy. Then, a preliminary calculation of OA intake via human milk was made, from ingested food. For this investigation, food and milk samples were collected, continuously for a week, from 4 lactating mothers. The obtained results revealed a significant exposure of sucklings and mothers to OA levels higher than the tolerable daily intake as estimated from animal models. On the basis of these data, a major effort in planning surveillance and research programs to control OA contamination in food, feed, and biological fluids should be pursued.