Role of lipoperoxidation in aflatoxin production

Summary Lipoperoxidation appears to play a role in inducing aflatoxin biosynthesis. In vitro, synthetic lipoperoxides greatly stimulate aflatoxin production when added to cultures of toxigenic strains of Aspergillus parasiticus or A. flavus. In vivo, the amount of toxin formed in sunflower seeds of different ages inoculated with A. parasiticus is directly related to the peroxide number of their oil content: the higher the peroxide number, the higher the aflatoxin production. In cultures of A. parasiticus carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) greatly stimulates aflatoxin biosynthesis. This effect might be due to the peroxidation of lipids of the endoplasmic reticulum of Aspergillus by the highly reactive CCl _. ³ radicals formed by interaction with the NADPH-cytochrome P-450 system.