Aflatoxin-albumin adduct formation after single and multiple doses of aflatoxin B-1 in rats treated with Thai medicinal plants

The objective was to conduct an assessment of the ability of two Thai medic inal plants, Cymbopogon citratus Stapf and Murdannia loriformis, to modulat e levels of serum aflatoxin-albumin (AF-albumin) adducts following aflatoxi n B-1 (AFB(1)) exposure in rats. The influence of the plant extracts on AF- albumin adduct formation after a single exposure to 250 mu g/kg body weight (bw) AFB(1) was measured over a 48-h period. Rats received hi. loriformis extract (3 g/kg bw) or C, citratus Stapf extract (5 g/kg bw) daily for the week prior to the AFB(1) administration. In control rats, maximum adduct le vels were observed 12 h post-AFB(1) treatment but in the animals receiving Murdannia extract, maximum levels occurred earlier, at 4 h post-treatment. No such effect was observed with the Cymbopogon extract, Daily treatment of rats with AFB(1) at 250 mu g/kg bw for 3 weeks caused serum AF-albumin add uct levels to accumulate over a 10-14 day period and reach plateau levels 4 .4-fold higher than observed after a single dose. Treatment with Murdannia extract for 1 week before and then throughout the AFB(1) exposure period re sulted in a slight decrease in the AF-albumin adduct levels in the first we ek of the intervention. After that time, however, the reduction in adduct l evels in the Murdannia extract group did not differ significantly from cont rols. No significant alteration in the biomarker levels was seen with the C ymbopogon extract treatments compared to control rats. (C) 1999 Elsevier Sc ience B.V. All rights reserved.