Association of aflatoxin B1 with plasma components in vitro.

The in vitro association of [3H]aflatoxin B1 with plasma from man, pig and rat was compared. The uptake of aflatoxin B1 into plasma was rapid and did not differ between species. Its association with lipoprotein fractions was minimal when incubated with whole plasma; column chromatography of plasma from all 3 species resulted in the elution of the aflatoxin B1 with the low Mr plasma proteins. It is concluded that although aflatoxin B1 is a hydrophobic compound, it does not partition into the plasma lipoproteins and that its in vitro uptake into plasma does not differ among the 3 species studied. Plasma transport is probably not one of the factors determining species specificity for carcinogenesis by aflatoxin B1.