In vivo toxicity assessment of aflatoxin B₁-contaminated corn after ozone degradation

ABSTRACT

Corn is an important food and feedstuff in China and worldwide. The problems caused by aflatoxin B₁-contaminated corn (ACC) are of great concern. Our previous studies have demonstrated that ozone can effectively degrade AFB₁ in corn, prompting us to investigate the in vivo toxicity of treated ACC. In this study, 35 Kunming mice were used to assess the in vivo toxicity of ozone treated ACC. Results indicated that compared to mice fed with basal feedstuff (provided by the Shanghai SLAC Laboratory), those fed with ACC have significantly decreased mean weight as well as total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), and globulin (GLB) contents (p < 0.05). On the other hand, the liver and kidney/body weight ratio as well as the serum alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels significantly increased (p < 0.05). Obvious histopathological changes were found in the liver and kidney. When mice were fed with the ozone-treated ACC, no significant differences were observed in the mean weight, the liver and kidney/body weight ratio and in the major serum indexes ALT, TP, ALB, and GLB (p > 0.05). However, AST and ALP significantly increased (p < 0.05), and slight histopathological changes were found in liver tissues. This study indicated that ACC may lead to significant changes in various physiological characteristics and biochemical indexes in liver and kidney tissues, but ozone treatment of ACC could significantly reduce these changes.

KEYWORDS:

• Aflatoxin B₁
• corn
• ozone degradation
• in vivo bioassay

Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the Special Fund for Grain-Scientific Research in the Public Interest of China (201313005, 201513006), Special Fund for Agro-Scientific Research in the Public Interest of China (201203037), National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFD0401200, 2017YFD0401100), National Natural Science Foundation of China (31501579, 31371874), International S&T Cooperation Program of China (ISTCP) (2015DFA30540), Jiangsu Agriculture Science and Technology Innovation Fund CX(17)1003, Postdoctoral Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (1501078B).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [31371874, 31501579]; Postdoctoral Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province [1501078B]; Special Fund for Agro-Scientific Research in the Public Interest of China[201203037]; International S&T Cooperation Program of China [2015DFA30540]; Special Fund for Grain-Scientific Research in the Public Interest of China [201313005, 201513006].