Fumonisin B 1 (FB 1 ), a widespread Fusarium toxin which is frequently found in corn, causes liver tumors in laboratory rodents and is a suspected human carcinogen. The compound was tested in micronucleus (MN) and single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) assays in human derived hepatoma (HepG2) cells and caused a pronounced dose-dependent genotoxic effect at exposure concentrations ≥25 µg/ml. In contrast, no induction of his ⍣ revertants was found in Salmonella microsome assays with strains TA98,

more »

... TA100, TA102, TA1535 and TA1537 upon addition of HepG2derived enzyme (S9) mix in liquid incubation assays with identical exposure concentrations. Taken together, our results indicate that FB 1 is clastogenic in human derived cells. This observation supports the assumption that this compound may act as a genotoxic carcinogen in humans.