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.