Aflatoxin: a Site of Action in the Rat Liver Cell

AFLATOXIN is the name given to a group of related toxic agents produced by the mould Aspergillus flavus and which have been characterized chemically 1,2 . Diets containing aflatoxin, such as toxic ground-nut meal, have been found to produce pathological changes 3–6 , in particular, liver injury 7 ,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1966-01, Vol.209 (5020), p.312-313
Main Authors: CLIFFORD, JANET I, REES, K. R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aflatoxins - pharmacology
Animals
Cattle
Dactinomycin - pharmacology
DNA - pharmacology
Humanities and Social Sciences
letter
Leucine - metabolism
Liver - metabolism
multidisciplinary
Orotic Acid - metabolism
Oxidoreductases - metabolism
Rats
RNA - biosynthesis
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Thymus Gland
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Summary:AFLATOXIN is the name given to a group of related toxic agents produced by the mould Aspergillus flavus and which have been characterized chemically 1,2 . Diets containing aflatoxin, such as toxic ground-nut meal, have been found to produce pathological changes 3–6 , in particular, liver injury 7 , in a wide variety of species of animals. The most toxic member of the aflatoxin group so far recognized has been designated aflatoxin B 1 (ref. 8). The rat is considerably less susceptible to aflatoxin than most other species investigated and for male rats the LD 50 is 7 mg aflatoxin B 1 /kg body-weight (administered by stomach tube, dissolved in dimethylformamide 5 mg/ml.) 9 . Such a dose produces an extensive hepatic periportal necrosis after 48 h. It seems likely that the toxic agent has a direct action on the liver as within 30 min of administration it is possible to detect aflatoxin B 1 in the liver 10 and within 60 min most of the administered dose has been concentrated there.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/209312a0