[Study on food safety of genetically modified rice which expressed cowpea trypsin inhibitor by 90 day feeding test on rats].
OBJECTIVE
Rats were fed by transgenic rice which expressed insecticidal protein CPTI (cowpea trypsin inhibitor) to study if the transgenic rice possessed potential toxic or adverse effects.


METHODS
Weanling Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups: T, N and C group. The diet of T group contained 78.3% transgenic rice. The diet of N group contained 74.7% non transgenic rice which was the parent line of the transgenic one. The diet formula of C group was AIN93G. The macro- and micronutrient content were equal in three diets. The rats were fed for 90 days. Food intakes were weight every day, body-weight were weight and body-length were measured every week. In the middle and at the end of feeding period, haematological value and clinical chemistry parameters were measured, at the end of the 90th day, post-mortem organ coefficient were measured, organ tissues analysis was performed and bone density was measured.


RESULTS
In most situation, there were no significant differences among the three groups(P > 0.05) and no histopathological damage were detected. At the end of the 1st month, the male rats' body length of the T group was longer than the other two groups and at the end of the test period, the male rats' blood glucose and ALT were lower than the other two groups. In the middle of the test period, the female rats' red blood cell number and hemoglobin were higher than the other two groups and at the end of the test period, the female rats' monocyte number was higher than the other two groups (P < 0.05). But all of the results were in the normal range which had been reported before.


CONCLUSIONS
From the results of the 90 days feeding test of transgenic rice on rats there did not reveal any signs of toxic and adverse effects.
Zhuo
Qin
Q
Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100050, China.
Chen
Xiaoping
X
Piao
Jianhua
J
Gu
Lüzhen
L
D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D005260:Female; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D008297:Male; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics* / Q000633:toxicity; D018532:Pisum sativum / Q000235:genetics; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000633:toxicity*; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014361:Trypsin Inhibitors; D000516:alpha-Amylases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors
D010940:Plant Proteins; D014361:Trypsin Inhibitors; D000516:alpha-Amylases