The ameliorative effect ofAspergillus awamori on aflatoxin B1-induced hepatic damage in rabbits

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of Aspergillus awamori on aflatoxin B1 (AFB1)-induced liver damage in rabbits. Administration of AFB1 (0.3 mg/kg diet) led to a significant reduction in body weight, body weight gain, total feed intake, total serum proteins, albumin, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, phagocytic activity, phagocytic index, and the antioxidant enzyme, glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Moreover, AFB1 administration was associated with a significant increase in feed conversion ratio, lipid peroxidation and serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, lactate dehydrogenase and total bilirubin. In addition, livers of AFB1-supplemented animals showed fatty degeneration with vacuolisation, focal areas of necrosis, mononuclear cells infiltration hyperplasia of bile ducts and sinusoids. A significant increase in the hepatic expression of the biotransformation gene (Cyp3A6), stress-sensitive genes (HO1 and SOD1), and inflammation-related genes (IL6, TNFa, NF-kB, and Cox2) was also observed. Supplementation of the diets with 0.05, 0.1 or 0.15% A. awamori ameliorated all AFB1 deleterious effects with the best improvement observed at the lowest concentration. This is the first investigation to report that supplementation of rabbit diets with A. awamori has an ameliorative effect against AFB1-induced liver damage possibly through preventing hepatic oxidative stress, promoting the antioxidant defence systems, and inhibiting expression of Cyp3A6, HO1, SOD1, IL6, TNFa, NF-kB, and Cox2. Therefore, A. awamori could be used as a potential preventive or therapeutic agent for aflatoxicosis.

Aspergillus awamori positively impacts the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, antioxidative activity and immune responses of growing rabbits

“…In line with the present study, Abdelhady et al. (2017) reported that A. awamori generated increased antioxidative status in rabbits through upregulating the antioxidative‐related genes.…”

Potential therapeutic effect of thymoquinone and/or bee pollen on fluvastatin-induced hepatitis in rats

“…Liver damage constitutes one of the main causes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that leads to death worldwide 1 – 3 . Hepatitis is one of earlier signs of liver damage, which is characterized by inflammatory cells infiltration, congestion of blood vessels, and cellular degenerative changes.…”

“…Hepatitis is one of earlier signs of liver damage, which is characterized by inflammatory cells infiltration, congestion of blood vessels, and cellular degenerative changes. Hepatitis could be induced by a viral infection, microbial metabolites, metabolic and autoimmune diseases, environmental toxicants, and alcohol and drug abuse 1 , 3 , 4 . If hepatitis was left for a long time without suitable treatments, other complicated liver disorders such as fibrosis and cirrhosis would be developed and in advanced cases become risk factors for HCC 5 .…”

Ameliorative effect of Echinacea purpurea and curcumin on dexamethasone-induced immunosuppressive rabbits

“…Rabbit's industry plays an important role in Egypt economic development, as it provides high-quality flesh which is characterized by less fat, easily digestible, and higher nutritional value. Rabbits contribute to fur production and were used for the production of antibodies and antisera using in different research aspects (Abdelhady et al, 2017, Gaber, 2016.…”

“…Medicinal plants are extensively used nowadays in the treatment of many diseases (Elgazar et al, 2018;Choi et al, 2011;Selim et al, 2019). Medicinal herbal plants, such as Echinacea, curcumin, garlic, onion, ginger, and astragalus, are used as immunomodulators (Abu Khudir et al, 2019;El-Magd et al, 2017;Sharma et al, 2017). Echinacea purpurea is a medicinal herb that contains phytochemicals such as polysaccharides, flavonoids, caffeic acid derivatives (chicoric acid), essential oils, polyacetylenes, and alkyl amides, with a particular immunostimulatory effect for polysaccharides and chicoric acid (Manayi et al, 2015).…”