Influences of Aflatoxin B1 on main intestinal bacteria communities and enzyme activities in mice

Abstract

Intestine microbiota and enzyme activities have crucial effects on host's health and behavior. In order to provide evidences for the toxicology of Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) on human’s health objectively, the influence of AFB1 on intestine microbiota and enzyme activities was conducted. Thirty-two Kunming mice were randomly placed into control group, low-dosage group, middle-dosage group, and high-dosage group after being fed for 4 days adaptively. Then they were fed intragastrically with 0.4 mL of 0 mg/L, 2.5 mg/L, 4 mg/L, and 10 mg/L of AFB1 solutions, twice a day for 62 days. Following this, the intestine contents were collected and the microorganisms and enzyme activities were analyzed. The results showed that the number of bacteria in the low-dosage (p = .024), the middle-dosage (p = .016) and the high-dosage (p = .000) groups and the number of Bifidobacterium spp. in the high-dosage group (p = .001) increased significantly in comparison with the control group. Compared to the control group, the activities of amylase in all AFB1 groups increased significantly (p = .000), the activities of xylanase (p = .005) and cellulase (p = .002) increased also in the high-dosage group. These results indicated that AFB1 destroyed the intestinal microecological balance and increased the activities of intestinal enzymes, but there were no significant effects on the weight of mice.