Comparison of in vitro and in vivo biological activity of mycotoxins.

In vitro assays developed to screen the cytotoxic activity of chemicals in murine (NIH/3T3) and bovine (BE 12-6) embryonic cells were used to determine the concentrations (microgram/ml) of mycotoxins which caused 50% lethality (LC50). Embryonic cells were seeded in 96 well plates, cultured for 72 hr with dilutions of each individual and combinations of mycotoxins, and stained and counted. Verrucarin A and roridin A had the strongest cytotoxic activity, and ergotamine tartrate was least toxic. Furthermore, results correlated with published values of in vivo activity, indicating this assay can be used for acute toxicity screening of compounds.