Alterations of brain and intestine serotonin levels in hamsters pretreated with dietary aflatoxin.
Male Syrian hamsters were fed 30.3 ppm mixed aflatoxins (AFT) for a 45-day period followed by a 123-day recovery period. Tests made at the end of the recovery period indicated a reduction in whole brain and duodenal serotonin and a slight but not statistically significant elevation in brain 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid. There was a high incidence of liver cell hyperplasia in the aflatoxin fed animals. Following toxin withdrawal, the experimental animals showed significant gains in body weight but they never attained a body weight equal to the controls. Aflatoxin apparently interferes with serotonin production and the return to normal body weight even after withdrawal of the animal from the contaminated diet.
D000348:Aflatoxins / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D006224:Cricetinae; D004386:Duodenum / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008647:Mesocricetus; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism*; D014364:Tryptophan / Q000378:metabolism
D000348:Aflatoxins; D012701:Serotonin; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid; D014364:Tryptophan