The effect of a subclinical dose of
aflatoxin on
body weight gain and risk assessment of
aflatoxin in muscle tissue for food safety were the focus of the study. Thirty New Zealand rabbits, 2 months old, were used. A group of 24 rabbits was fed
aflatoxin 2 p.p.m. day-1 for a period of 4 months. The weights of the individual
aflatoxin-fed rabbits and those of the control group were recorded weekly.
Aflatoxin was withdrawn from a group of six rabbits chosen at random for a period of 4 weeks before the termination of the experiment. All rabbits were necropsied at the end of the study for gross and microscopic changes of the internal organs. Samples of muscle tissue were also collected and analysed chemically for
aflatoxin using thin-layer chromatography. Significant
weight loss equivalent to 13% mortality was found in the
aflatoxin-fed rabbits. Characteristic pathological changes were found.
Aflatoxins B1 and G2 were detected in muscle tissue at alarming concentrations far exceeding the permissible levels in food for human consumption in the
aflatoxin-fed group. No detectable
aflatoxins were found in the
aflatoxin-withdrawal group.