oosporein and Poultry-Diseases

The toxicity to broiler chicks of Chaetomium contaminated corn and various chemical forms of oosporein were compared by feeding diets containing 60% Chaetomium contaminated corn (300 micrograms oosporein/g diet), and 300 or 150 micrograms/g of purified oosporein in either the K salt, Na salt, or organic acid form from hatching to 3 weeks of age. The Chaetomium contaminated corn diet caused 100% mortality during the first week of feeding. Necropsies revealed extensive visceral and articular gout, enlarged pale kidneys, dehydration, proventricular enlargement with mucosal necrosis, and a dark green discoloration of the gizzard lining. When the mortality percentages of the two experiments conducted were considered collectively, the K and Na salts of oosporein caused significantly higher mortality than the organic acid form of oosporein. The K salt caused the most severe lesions and the organic acid caused the least severe lesions. No mortality occurred at the 150 micrograms/g K salt or 150 micrograms/g organic acid levels. Relative kidney weights were increased by all forms of oosporein at 300 micrograms/g, but at 150 micrograms/g only the K salt caused an increase in kidney weight. The LD50 values, based on mortality from 1 to 10 days, were 5.77, 5.00, and 4.56 mg/kg for oosporein acid, oosporein Na salt, and oosporein K salt, respectively. These results suggest that the salts of oosporein (particularly the K salt) are more toxic than the organic acid, and the natural occurrence of oosporein in a salt form could contribute to the increased toxicity of the Chaetomium contaminated corn.

Topics: Animals; Ascomycota; Benzoquinones; Chaetomium; Chickens; Food Contamination; Food Microbiology; Foodborne Diseases; Kidney; Liver; Mycotoxins; Organ Size; Poultry Diseases; Proventriculus; Quinones; Zea mays