Dietary Curcumin Alleviated Aflatoxin B1-Induced Acute Liver Damage in Ducks by Regulating NLRP3-Caspase-1 Signaling Pathways.

Sanjun Jin,Yingjie Wang,Anshan Shan,Xingjun Feng,Yihan Jiao,Hao Yang,Qian Pang

doi:10.3390/foods10123086

Abstract

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a mycotoxin widely distributed in animal feed and human food; it represents a serious threat to human and animal health. This study investigates the mechanism by which dietary curcumin protected liver against acute damage caused by AFB1 administration in ducks. One-day-old male ducks (n = 450) were randomly assigned to three groups, the control group, the AFB1 group, and the AFB1 + curcumin group; the first group were fed with basic diet, while the third group was fed basic diet containing 500 mg/kg curcumin. Ducks in the AFB1 group and AFB1 + curcumin group were challenged with AFB1 at the age of 70 days. The results show that AFB1 administration caused liver damage, increased CYP450 content and AFB1-DNA adducts in the liver, and induced oxidative stress and inflammatory response in the liver. Dietary curcumin significantly inhibited the generation of H2O2 and MDA in liver, activated the Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway, and suppressed the NLRP3–caspase-1 signaling pathway in the liver of ducks. Conclusively, curcumin in diet could protect duck liver against the generation of AFB1-DNA adducts, toxicity, oxidation stress and inflammatory response induced by AFB1 through regulating the NLRP3–caspase-1 signaling pathways, demonstrating that curcumin is a potential feed additive agent to reduce the serious harmful effects of AFB1 on duck breeding.

Highlights

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), produced by Aspergillus species, is a stable toxic metabolite among the most toxic and carcinogenic metabolites [1]
We identified a significant decrease in TP (p < 0.01), ALB (p < 0.002) and GLO (p < 0.002) levels in the T0 + AFB1 group relative to those in the T0 group; there was no significant increase in TP (p = 0.262), ALB (p = 0.305), and GLO (p = 0.611) levels in the T500 + AFB1 group relative to those in the T0 + AFB1 group (Figure 1A–C)
The results of this study demonstrate that dietary curcumin could protect duck liver against acute damage induced by AFB1 administration

Summary

Introduction

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), produced by Aspergillus species, is a stable toxic metabolite among the most toxic and carcinogenic metabolites [1]. The consumption of food with AFB1 results in damage of the liver, as the liver is the target organ where the activation, metabolism, and elimination of toxins are all carried out [4,5,6]. AFB1 is mainly metabolized in the liver by cytochrome P450 (CYP450) bioactive enzymes including CYP1A1, CYP1A4, CYP2A6, and CYP3A4, contributing to disease development in the liver [7]. The pathophysiological processes of disease development are usually accompanied with oxidative stress and inflammation, such as the metabolic processes of AFB1 in the liver [8]. Excessive oxidation stress and inflammation play a vital role in the toxicity metabolism of AFB1 in the liver; as expected, antioxidants are an effective way to protect body against toxic metabolites, oxidative stress, and inflammation [9,10,11]

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Discussion

Conclusion