Embryotoxicity assay of aflatoxin produced byAspergillus parasiticusNRRL 2999

Abstract

1. The embryotoxicity of mixed aflatoxins (AF) and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) were evaluated by a modified chick embryotoxicity screening test (CHEST). Adverse effects on the early embryonic development of thymus and bursa of Fabricius were also investigated by light microscopy. AF consisted of 83.06% AFB1, 12.98% AFB2, 2.84% AFG1 and 1.12% AFG2. 2. A total of 448 fertilised laying hens' eggs were used. AF and AFB1 were injected into the eggs at doses of 10, 100 and 1000 ng/egg. Embryonic developmental stages were evaluated according to the Hamburger-Hamilton scale (HH-scale). 3. The results showed that AFB1 given at 10 ng/egg had a significantly (P<0.05) greater embryotoxic effect than AF given at a similar dose. The higher doses of both AF and AFB1 caused higher embryonic mortality and also an increase in early deaths. 4. In the groups receiving 100 ng/egg AF and AFB1 an abnormal development was seen, with a protruded central region, corresponding to the area pellucida of the blastoderm. No other developmental abnormality attributable to AF or AFB1 was found.

Determination of the effects of aflatoxin B1givenin ovoon the proximal tibial growth plate of broiler chickens: histological, histometric and immunohistochemical findings

“…The higher mortality of fertilized eggs occurred with increasing toxin doses in a positive doseÁresponse manner (Table 1). These results are similar to the results of previous studies (Dietert et al, 1985;Prelusky et al, 1987;Celik et al, 2000;Sur & Celik, 2003).…”

“…Treatments were performed just prior to placing the eggs in the incubator. After drilling the egg shell at the blunt end, 20 ml test solution was injected into the air space (Celik et al, 2000) using micropipettes (Sealpette, Jencons, Finland) with sterile tips. After injection, the hole was immediately sealed with melted paraffin.…”

“…Although 18 different AFs have been identified, only AFB 1 , AFB 2 , AFG 1 and AFG 2 have been detected in food and foodstuffs (Leeson et al, 1995). Among them, AFB 1 is the most toxic for most animal species (Leeson et al, 1995;Celik et al, 2000). The toxic effects of AFs in poultry have been widely investigated (Giambrone et al, 1978;Celik et al, 1996;Sur & Celik, 2003) and are a major concern in poultry production because of serious economic losses resulting from anorexia, poor feed utilization, decreased body weight gain, decreased egg production, increased susceptibility to microbial and unspecified diseases and increased mortality (Qureshi et al, 1998;Tessari et al, 2006;Oguz, 2011).…”

Aflatoxicosis: Lessons from Toxicity and Responses to Aflatoxin B1 in Poultry

“…Embryonic AFB1 exposure can lead to morphological defects [212], such as abnormal area opaca cells [210,214], skeletal defects in the tibia growth plate [213], and inhibition of bursal follicle development [210,214]. These mutagenic effects can reduce embryo viability and adversely affect hatched progeny.…”

“…In experimental settings, in ovo exposure of chickens or turkeys to AFB1 caused DNA damage in the embryonic liver and increased embryo mortality [131,161,[210][211][212][213][214][215]. When introduced into the maternal diet to simulate the natural route of embryonic exposure, AFB1 caused reduced hatchability [130,131,161].…”