health risk is expected after dermal contact in agricultural or residential environments, skin exposure to ochratoxin A should nevertheless be limited. Genetic resistance In 1975 Woolf et al. proposed that the inherited disorder Phenylketonuria protects against ochratoxin A poisoning through the production of high levels of phenylalanine. Ochratoxin is a competitive inhibitor of phenylalanine in the phenylalanyl-tRNA-synthetase-catalyzed reaction thus preventing protein synthesis, which can be reversed by introducing phenylalanine, which is in excess in PKU individuals. See also Ochratoxin References External links Mycotoxins IARC Group 2B carcinogens Isochromenes Lactones Phenols Benzamides Halogen-containing natural products Chloroarenes Suspected testicular toxins