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Appl Environ Microbiol. 1969 April; 17(4): 516-519
Copyright © 1969 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Biological Activity of Aflatoxin B_2a

^a Northern Regional Research Laboratory, Peoria, Illinois 61604¹

ABSTRACT

The toxicity of alfatoxin B_2a (hydroxydihydro-aflatoxin B₁) was studied in several biological systems. Aflatoxin B_2a is the monohydroxylated derivative obtained from addition of water to the double bond of the terminal furan of B₁. Examination of the sensitivity of a group of microorganisms to B_2a demonstrated that the inhibitory spectrum was similar to aflatoxin B₁. However, the toxicity of B_2a was markedly lower than B₁, as measured by the initiation of bile duct hyperplasia in ducklings. Binding of aflatoxin to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was determined by measuring the hypochromicity produced by the nucleic acid at 363 nm and the capacity of increasing amounts of DNA to quench the fluorescence of the toxin was also used as a measure of the binding of toxin to nucleic acid. These tests showed that the DNA-binding capacity of B_2a was lower than B₁.

¹ This is a laboratory of the Northern Utilization Research and Development Division, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.