Toxicity assessment of fumonisins using the brine shrimp (Artemia salina) bioassay.

The Fusarium mycotoxins fumonisin B₁ (FB₁) (1) and B₂ (FB₂) (2), their hydrolysed analogues HFB₁ (3) and HFB₂ (4) and the recently discovered fumonisin derivatives N-palmitoyl-HFB₁ (5) and N-carboxymethyl-FB₁ (6) were compared for their toxicity in a short term bioassay using brine shrimp (Artemia salina). The brine shrimp were hatched in artificial sea water and exposed to the fumonisins in microwell plates with a mortality endpoint after 48 hours. LC₅₀ values were calculated after Probit transformation of the resulting data. Of the substances tested, fumonisin B₁ emerged to be the most toxic whereas its N-carboxymethyl analogue was 100-fold less effective. The hydrolysed fumonisins showed a four- to sixfold reduced toxicity compared to FB₁. N-Palmitoyl-HFB₁ had a higher LC₅₀ value than its precursor HFB₁. The brine shrimp assay proved to be a convenient and rapid system for toxicity assessment of this group of mycotoxins.