ABSTRACT
Some investigators believe that the ability of trichothecenes to inhibit protein and DNA synthesis may be the fundamental cause for at least some of their toxicity. As would be expected, newborn animals without fully developed detoxifying mechanisms, and with short-lived energy stores, are comparatively more sensitive to trichothecene toxicoses. The clinical syndrome is not caused directly by fungal infection of the host, but by toxic fungal metabolites. Historically, the first trichothecene, glutinosin, was identified when screening for new antimicrobial agents. The antibacterial properties of various trichothecenes have been well studied. Boutibonnes investigated the sensitivity of the Gram-positive spore former Bacillus thuringiensis to toxins produced by several fungi. Bawden and Freeman found that filtrates from a culture of Trichothecium roseum contained trichothecenes which could inhibit some viral infections of bean and tobacco plants. Only a few toxic fungal metabolites from the large group of 12, 13-epoxy-trichothecenes have been associated with field occurrences of mycotoxicosis in poultry.
