Mycotoxins such as aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), ochratoxin A (OTA) and zearalenone (ZEA) are widespread contaminants of food and feedstuffs. It is very likely, that humans and animals are always exposed to mixtures of mycotoxins rather than to individual compounds. Therefore, risk assessments should consider mixture toxicity data. In the present study the combination of AFB1, OTA and ZEA was tested for genotoxicity in rat bone marrow and blood leukocytes after 15, 30 and 60 days treatment. The level of DNA damage was determined by the comet assay. The tail intensity and Olive tail moment in leukocytes and bone marrow cells were significantly higher than in controls. At the same time, the level of DNA damage in bone marrow cells was higher than in leukocytes. The data suggests that prolonged exposure to mycotoxins combination through food consumption can induce DNA damage contributing to the harmful effects in vivo.

• Harutyunyan Tigran(Yerevan State University, Faculty of Biology, Departments of Genetics and Cytology)
• Karapetyan Anna(Yerevan State University, Faculty of Biology, Departments of Genetics and Cytology and Zoology)
• Hovhannisyan Galina(Yerevan State University, Faculty of Biology, Departments of Genetics and Cytology) Corresponding author
• Aroutiounian Rouben(Yerevan State University, Faculty of Biology, Departments of Genetics and Cytology) Corresponding author