Fumonisin B1 Neurotoxicity in Young Carp (Cyprinus Carpio L.)

For years scientists have suspected that the environment plays a role in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis. Mycotoxin fumonisin B₁ (FB₁) is produced by several Fusarium species, mainly by Fusarium verticilioides, which is one of the most common fungi associated with corn worldwide. Fumonisins are known to cause equine leukoencephalomalacia, a disease associated with the consumption of corn-based feeds contaminated with FB₁. Here we have reported chronic experimental toxicosis in one-year-old carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) receiving feed containing 100 mg kg^-1 or 10 mg kg^-1 of added FB₁ for 42 days. We focused on fumonisin toxicity in the fish brain. After staining with hemalaun-eosin, histology of the fish brain revealed vacuolated, degenerate, or necrotic neural cells, scattered around damaged blood capillaries and in the periventricular area. These findings suggest that fumonisin, although it is a hydrophilic molecule, permeated the blood-brain barrier of young carp and had a toxic effect on neuronal cells.