Effects of oral administration of aflatoxin B1 and fumonisin B1 in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

The effects of prolonged oral administration (21 days) of fumonisin B1 (FB1) and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) were studied in male New Zealand rabbits by clinical, pathological, biochemical and sphingolipid analyses. Twenty-four animals were randomly divided into the following four experimental groups: (A) 0 mg FB1 + 0 μg AFB1/(kg body weight (bw) day) (control); (B) 0 mg FB1 + 30 μg AFB1/(kg bw day); (C) 1.5 mg FB1/(kg bw day) + 30 μg AFB1/(kg bw day); (D) 1.5 mg FB1/(kg bw day) + 0 μg AFB1. Animals from group B and principally from group C presented clinical signs of intoxication. Rabbits from group C presented a lower body weight gain than controls. Differences were observed between intoxicated rabbits and controls with respect to absolute and relative liver and kidney weight, hepatic function, serum urea and creatinine levels and Sa/So ratio. The most frequent hepatic and renal injuries were vacuolar degeneration of the liver and kidney as shown by the histopathological and serum biochemical results. Combined administration of AFB1 and FB1 resulted in synergistic toxic effects both in the liver and in the kidney, but hepatic injuries were more marked.