Metabolism and Incorporation of (14C)-Aflatoxin B1 in Chicken Embryos

Abstract

The metabolism of 14C-aflatoxin B1 (Af. B1) in the chick embryo was studied.When inoculated into air cells, the embryos, egg membranes, other parts of the eggs and the expired carbon dioxide during a 1 hour period contained 8.0, 15.0, 76.0 and 1.0% of the total detected radio-activity, respectively. In the case of yolk sac inoculation, the embryos, other parts of the eggs and the expired carbon dioxide during a 1 hour period contained 3.4, 96.4 and 0.2% of the total detected counts, respectively.At equal doses of (14C)-Af. B1 into the air cell and yolk sac of eggs, the embryos incorporated 14C in a ratio of 2.5:1, which is similar to the ratio of LD50 values (air cell inoculation=0.41μg/egg; yolk sac inoculation=0.89μg/egg) by the two inoculation routes.The homogenate of embryos inoculated with Af. B1 was partitioned into chloroform and methanol-water. As the time after inoculation increased, methanol-water-soluble metabolites from Af. B1 increased and chloroform-soluble ones decreased. Af. M1 was the principal metabolite among the chloroform-soluble substances.