SUMMARYCitrinin, a naturally occurring mycotoxin, was dissolved in dimethylsulphoxide -70% ethanol (3:1, v/v) and administered orally in two trials to 7-day-old male turkey poults and male white Pekin ducklings. The single dose LD 50 value in 7-day-old male turkey poults was 56 mg/kg and in 7-day-old male white Pekin ducklings it was 57 mg/kg. The mycotoxin was nephrotoxic in both species, but the renal lesions were more severe in turkeys and were characterised by degeneration and necrosis of renal tubular epithelium. In turkeys, lesions were found in the liver and included hepatic cell necrosis and biliary hyperplasia. Lymphoid necrosis with depletion involved the thymus and cloacal bursa of turkeys and ducklings. These latter lesions were the most prominent histopathological alterations in citrinin-treated ducklings.

No abstract

No abstract

Abstract. The toxic effects of citrinin in turkeys and ducklings was studied in four trials. Citrinin dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide-70% ethanol solution (3: 1, volume/volume) was administered by gavage to male turkey poults and male white Pekin ducklings. When seven-day-old ducklings were given doses of citrinin between 30 to 110 mg/kg body weight, most of the treated ducklings which died (49/80) did so within four to 12 hours. Blood samples were collected sequentially at 3, 6, 12, and 24 hours after administration from seven-day-old ducklings given the single lethal dose (LD50). The alterations included hyperkalemia (P I 0.01) and metabolic acidosis characterized by reduced blood pH (P I 0.01) and base excess (P 5 0.01). Fourteen-day-old turkeys and ducklings given 56 or 57 mg/kg, respectively, were killed at 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours after treatment. The principal alteration in both species was nephrosis that was more severe in turkeys than in ducklings. Tubular necrosis was the dominant lesion at three to 72 hours in turkeys and at six to 24 hours in ducklings. Hepatic and lymphoid lesions occurred in both turkeys and ducklings treated with citrinin.Citrinin is a secondary metabolite of a number of fungal species belonging to the genera Penicillium and Aspergill~s.~* lo In most reports of the acute toxicity of citrinin, the principal histological lesions have been in the kidney, and the nephrotoxic effects of citrinin were considered the principal cause of death.* During our investigations of citrinin mycotoxicosis in turkey poults and ducklings, it was observed that renal lesions were prominent in the turkey, but were mild in ducklings and could not be established as the cause of death in ducklings. Because of these species variations in the severity of the renal lesions, other studies were undertaken to define the sequential development of lesions produced in turkeys and ducklings by a single lethal dose (LDSo) and to define certain clinicopathologic alterations in ducklings. Materials and MethodsWhite male turkey poults of the Nicholas strain were obtained at one day of age from a commercial hatchery (Armour Hatchery, Patoka, IN), and one-day-old male White Pekin ducklings were supplied by Maple Leaf Farms, Inc., Miiford, IN. The turkey poults were kept in wire-floored brooding cages at 37°C for 14 days. Ducklings were housed in a heated room (26°C) under a direct heat lamp (250 watt) until they were seven or 14 days old. The birds were acclimated and observed daily without handling. The same nonmedicated commercial starter mash was used for both species and fresh tap water was available ad libitum. Sequentially numbered aluminum wingbands were randomized, affixed to the wing web, and birds were placed in dose groups according to the wingband number sequence.Citrinin preparation and establishment of its identity and purity were as previously described.' I. '' Citrinin was dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide-70% ethanol (3: 1, volume/volume). The solvent exposure was 5 ml/kg body weight for treated an...

No abstract