Abstract
The aim of this study was to find out whether very low doses of nephrotoxic and hepatotoxic mycotoxins ochratoxin A (OTA) and fumonisin B~1~ (FB~1~) induce oxidative stress in rat kidney and liver and whether their effect is synergistic. Rats were treated orally with OTA (5 ng/kg b.w. and 50 μg/kg b.w.) and FB~1~ (200 ng/kg b.w. and 50 μg/kg b.w.), or their combinations. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyls (PCs) concentration in kidney was affected with lower dose of OTA than in liver (p < 0.05). FB~1~ did not affect MDA and PCs concentrations in the liver, while in the kidney both FB~1~ doses increased MDA concentration (p < 0.05). The combination of the lower doses of OTA + FB~1~ increased the MDA and PCs concentration both in the liver and the kidney, compared to controls and animals treated with respective doses of mycotoxins (p < 0.05). The combinations of mycotoxins reduced the catalase activity only in the kidney when compared to controls (p < 0.05). In contrast to the increased kidney concentrations of MDA and PCs even with very low doses of OTA and FB~1~, the activity of catalase and SOD does not change. Combinations of OTA + FB~1~ affected almost all parameters, which indicates their potential to produce oxidative damage.