Experimental Mycotoxicosis in Chickens Induced by Ochratoxin A and Penicillic Acid and Intervention with Natural Plant Extracts

Abstract

The combined toxic effect of ochratoxin A (OTA) and penicillic acid (PA) on the body mass, the weight and pathomorphology of some internal organs was studied in 85 broiler chickens fed a mouldy diet containing 130, 300 or 800 ppb OTA and 1000-2000 ppb PA. The main pathomorphological changes were cloudy swelling and granular degeneration in the epithelium and mononuclear cell proliferation and activation of capillary endothelium in the kidney and liver; degenerative changes and depletion of lymphoid cells in lymphoid organs (bursa of Fabricius, thymus and spleen) were also seen. Protective effects of 5% total water extract of artichoke and a new natural phytosubstance Rosallsat against these pathomorphological changes were observed. A significant decrease in body mass and relative weight of lymphoid organs was found after 6 weeks of exposure and a greater decrease after 10 weeks of exposure to OTA and PA, and a protective effect of artichoke extract and a slight effect of Rosallsat against that decrease was observed. A significant increase in relative weight of liver and kidneys was also observed as well as a protective effect of artichoke extract against that increase. The quantity of OTA and the percentage of positive samples were significantly lower in tissues of chickens treated with artichoke extract or Rosallsat in addition to OTA than in those treated with only OTA.

Ameliorative efficacy of citrus oil in aflatoxin induced changes in lymphoid organs in broilers-A pathomorphological evaluation

“…Aflatoxin affects the immune organs mainly due to formation of DNA adduct in fast dividing lymphoid cells which leads to profound immunodeficiency by hampering the development and maturation of lymphoid organs (Dietert et al, 1985;Neldon-Ortiz and Qureshi, 1992). Amelioration of the negative effects of aflatoxicity was attempted using herbal preparations by previous workers (Stoev et al, 2004;Kalorey et al, 2005). Citrus fruit oil with active ingredient Dlimonene has inhibitory effect on Cytochrome P 450 enzymes (Reicks and Crankshaw, 1993) which converts AF to AFB1 -8, 9 epoxide which ultimately forms DNA adducts and produces toxicity.…”

“…Polyherbal extracts of Operculina turpethum, Piper nigrum, Emblica ribes, Curcuma longa, Phyllanthus emblica, Piper officinarum, Zingiber officinale, Piper longum, Cedrus deodara etc. (Kalorey et al, 2005) and extracts of artichoke are included in animal feeds to detoxify the absorbed toxins and to prevent damage to the liver by enhancing the action of hepatic antioxidants (Stoev et al, 2004).…”

Ochratoxin A and Aristolochic Acid Involvement in Nephropathies and Associated Urothelial Tract Tumours

“…Pathomorphological changes in pig's kidney experimentally exposed to OTA and penicillic acid (PA) were more similar to spontaneous MPN than to Danish MPN (51). A similar comparison was made between spontaneous mycotoxic avian nephropathy (MAN) and kidney damage in chicks receiving both toxins through diet (52). In addition, analyses of feed given to pig which suffered from kidney lesions confi rmed high levels of OTA and fumonisin B 1 (FB 1 ) (up to 40 mg kg -1 ) (53).…”

Mycotoxic and Aristolochic Acid Theories of the Development of Endemic Nephropathy

“…OTA was found in food and feed all over the world (20), and low OTA concentrations were found in residents of countries where EN has not been identified so far (21). However, this finding does not discard mycotoxins as possible causes of EN, because there are other mycotoxins (such as citrinin, penicillic acid, and fumonisins) with nephrotoxic properties that may have a synergistic effect (22)(23)(24)(25)(26).…”