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Follow Up Long Term Studies on Carcinogenic and Toxic Effects of Ochratoxin A in Rats and the Putative Protection of Phenylalanine
28 Pages Posted: 16 Jun 2019
More...Abstract
Carcinogenic effects of ochratoxin A (OTA) on liver, kidneys, intestine, lung and eyes of Wistar rats exposed to 10 ppm or 5 ppm OTA in the diet and additionally supplemented or not with phenylalanine (PHE) were found. OTA was seen to provoke strong degenerative changes and slight pericapillary oedema in most internal organs, e.g. kidneys, liver, intestine, spleen and brain. Six of total nine neoplasms were identified as malignant and three as benign. Five of total six malignant neoplasms and two of total three benign neoplasms were seen in male rats. The pathological finding in rats after two weeks feeding with OTA-contaminated feed was dominated by degenerative changes in various internal organs, which were weaker in the group additionally supplemented with PHE. After three months' exposure to OTA-contaminated feed, connective tissue proliferation, activation of capillary endothelium and mononuclear cell proliferation in the liver and kidney were seen. The protective effect of PHE was evident with respect to OTA-induced decrease of serum glucose and serum protein, but this protection was not singnificant with respect to serum enzymes activity. The number of neoplasms in PHE-supplemented group exposed to 10 ppm OTA was nearly similar to that in the group exposed to twice lower feed levels of OTA alone, suggesting about a possible protective effect of PHE. The rats would not be able to serve as experimental model for humans with regard to OTA-induced tumorigenesis, because the target organ of OTA-toxicity in humans and pigs is mainly the kidney as opposed to the significant damages and carcinogenic effects seen in various organs in rats exposed to OTA, e.g. kidneys, liver, intestine, eye and lung.
Funding Statement: This research has been supported in part through European Community under Marie Curie Outgoing International Fellowship under the 6th framework (MOIF-CT-2005-018674); Marie Curie International Research Staff Exchange Scheme under 7th framework (PIRSES-GA-2012-316067 – HERBAL PROTECTION); Department of Science and Technology in South Africa; UK Royal Society Joint Project with Central and Eastern Europe and the Foundation of the Ministry of Science and Education of Bulgaria.
Declaration of Interests: The author declares no conflicts of interests.
Ethics Approval Statement: The Animal Care Ethic Committee approved the study protocol and Ethic clearance (No 111 from 20/11/2014) was issued for the study by the Bulgarian Agency for Food Safety.
Keywords: ochratoxin A; phenylalanine; carcinogenic effect; rats; tumorigenesis; pathology
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation