Abstract
Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), a secondary metabolite produced by fungi of the genus Aspergillus, has been found among various foods as well as in fish feed. However, the effects of AFB1 on fish development and its associated toxic mechanism are still unclear. In the present study, we confirmed the morphological alterations in zebrafish embryos and larvae after exposure to different AFB1 doses as well as the oxidative stress pathway that is involved. Furthermore, we evaluated the potentially protective effect of Hericium erinaceus extract, one of the most characterized fungal extracts, with a focus on the nervous system. Treating the embryos 6 h post fertilization (hpf) with AFB1 at 50 and 100 ng/mL significantly increased oxidative stress and induced malformations in six-day post-fertilization (dpf) zebrafish larvae. The evaluation of lethal and developmental endpoints such as hatching, edema, malformations, abnormal heart rate, and survival rate were evaluated after 96 h of exposure. Hericium inhibited the morphological alterations of the larvae as well as the increase in oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. In conclusion: our study suggests that a natural extract such as Hericium may play a partial role in promoting antioxidant defense systems and may contrast lipid peroxidation in fish development by counteracting the AFB1 toxicity mechanism.
Highlights
Aquaculture is a key aspect of the world food business, supplying about half of all seafood intended for human consumption
We used aflatoxin concentrations close to those found in feed and that are known to be toxic based on studies that were previously performed during the early stages of embryonic development in zebrafish larvae [10,26]
Toxicity assays revealed that Aflatoxin B1- (AFB1) induced dosedependent mortality in zebrafish embryos, resulting in a LC50 value of 100 ng/mL after 96 h of exposure
Summary
Aquaculture is a key aspect of the world food business, supplying about half of all seafood intended for human consumption. Mycotoxins are posing a growing hazard to aquaculture, with aflatoxin, one of these mycotoxins, posing the greatest risk to farm-raised fish. Aflatoxin B1- (AFB1) contaminated feed has immediate detrimental effects on the health of farmed fish, but it raises the possibility of pollutants being passed down the food chain to consumers [3]. In Asia, average levels were found to range from = 51.83 μg/kg, with a maximum of 220.61 μg/kg, while in Iran, higher AFB1 levels were found in fishmeal (average = 67.4 μg/kg) compared to those found in the wheat (average = 12.4 μg/kg), wheat flour (average = 2.3 μg/kg), and starch (average = 1.8 μg/kg) used to feed fish [3,5,6,7,8]. AFB1, which is considered to be a toxic xenobiotic, has shown several adverse effects on human and animal health, including hepatocarcinogenic, mutagenic, and genotoxic effects [9]
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