Ochratoxin A: an antiinsectan metabolite from the sclerotia of Aspergillus carbonarius NRRL 369

Ochratoxin A, a known mycotoxin with demonstrated toxicity to insects, has been isolated from the sclerotia of the fungus Aspergillus carbonarius NRRL 369. The sclerotia, harvested from a solid substrate fermentation of corn kernels at 28 °C, produced quantities of ochratoxin A exceeding 50 ppm/g dry weight of sclerotia. Evidence is presented that ochratoxin A accounts for the activity of the methanol extract against larvae of the detritivorous beetle Carpophilus hemipterus (Nitidulidae) (75% reduction in feeding rate) and corn ear worm Helicoverpa zea (50% mortality with 99% reduction in weight gain among surviving larvae) when incorporated into a pinto bean diet at levels less than those occurring naturally in the sclerotia.Key words: ochratoxin A, Aspergillus carbonarius, sclerotia, Helicoverpa zea, Carpophilus hemipterus, antiinsectan, chemical defense.