[The effect of long term administration of aflatoxins on the health status of male rats and pigs with respect to morphological changes in the testes]

Abstract

Long-continued administration of differentiated doses of aflatoxins was studied as to its effect on the over-all health conditions of male rats and pigs. Crude extract of the toxicogenic strain of Aspergillus flavus and was used for the experiments. The amount of aflatoxins is related to the actual content of aflatoxin B1, determined fluorometrically. Feed containing 1.0 mg aflatoxin per kg was administered in feeding trials with rats. Differentiated concentrations (20.0, 4.0, 2.0 and 0.2 mg aflatoxin B1 per day for 211 days) in feed were used in adult boars. After a longer time of administration, rats showed worse health condition and morphological changes corresponding to chronic aflatoxicosis. Serious changes were found during the histological examination of testes, including regressive changes of different intensity in the germinal epithelium of tubules, in some cases resulting in severe dystrophic alterations leading up to complete devastation of the spermiogenic epithelium. Interstitial tissue was considerably oedematous. Clinical manifestation of aflatoxicosis was observed in the boars given 20.0 mg aflatoxin B1 daily. When lower doses of aflatoxin were administered, no clinical manifestation of intoxication was recorded. In all cases, though no clinical disease occurred, feed conversion was impaired and weight gains decreased, depending directly on aflatoxin doses. The health condition was evaluated objectively by haematological examination and by the determination of clinico-biochemical values in blood plasma. The pathoanatomic changes indicated chronical aflatoxicosis. Histological changes in the testes of boars given 4.0 and 20.0 mg aflatoxin B1 daily in feed occurred within 63 to 190 days. The testes showed different degrees of dystrophy leading to the destruction and atrophy of spermiogenic epithelium and to oedema in the tissue. The extent of the histological changes testifies to a significant damage caused to the spermiogenic epithelium of seminiferous tubules after long-continued administration of high doses of aflatoxins.