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PubMed1988

Modifying role of dietary factors on the mutagenicity of aflatoxin B1: in vitro effect of trace elements.

Using Salmonella typhimurium strains TA100 and TA98 tests have been carried out to detect the inhibitory activity of various trace elements on mutagenesis induced by aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in the presence of a rat liver microsomal activation system. Several trace elements have shown significant modulating activity in both the strains, while a few show inhibition only in a particular strain. Among the most effective elements are copper, manganese, zinc and selenium, all of which exhibit an inhibition pattern which is dose-dependent. Copper, in particular, shows exceptional activity, since the molar excess dose of this element required to inhibit AFB1 mutagenicity by 50% has been observed to be very low. The action of trace elements is possibly mediated through interaction with microsomal enzymes, thereby modulating the formation of the reactive metabolite before modification of DNA. These results suggest that certain trace elements notably copper may have potential anticarcinogenic activity against AFB1.

Aflatoxin B1↗
PubMed1983

The inhibitory effects of ethoxyquin on the carcinogenic action of aflatoxin B1 in rats.

Ethoxyquin (EQ), a widely used antioxidant, inhibits the carcinogenic effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The aim of the present study was to determine whether EQ modifies the hepatocarcinogenic effects of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in rats. Both compounds were administered in the diet. Rats were fed either EQ for 2 weeks and then AFB1 for 6 weeks, EQ and AFB1 simultaneously or EQ following the cessation of AFB1 treatment. The results indicate that EQ can inhibit the hepatocarcinogenic effects of AFB1 and that the most effective inhibition is obtained when EQ and AFB1 are given simultaneously.

Aflatoxin B1↗
PubMed1987

Evaluation of aflatoxin B1 mutagenesis: addition of glutathione and glutathione-S-transferase to the Salmonella mutagenicity assay.

The effects of glutathione (GSH) and the combination of GSH and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) on aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) mutagenesis in the Salmonella mutagenicity assay using Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100 were tested. Ten concentrations of AFB1 (0-1.0 micrograms/plate) were added to a liver microsomal homogenate (S9 mix) or to S9 mix containing GSH or S9 mix containing the combination of GSH + GST. One-third of the samples were plated directly. Two-thirds were incubated for 30 min at 37 degrees C prior to plating, and of those, half included bacteria. All samples were plated according to Ames et al [1975]. The results show that the addition of GSH and GSH + GST affected AFB1 mutagenesis by forming the AFB1-GSH conjugate and decreasing the availability of AFB1-8,9-epoxide. The effect of GST on GSH activity varied with the strain because of the different amounts of S9 mix used. The formation of the AFB1-GSH conjugate was verified by using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography for quantitation of AFB1 and detection of AFB1-GSH.

Aflatoxin B1↗
PubMed1983

Rapid determination of aflatoxin B1 in Dutch feeding stuffs by high-performance liquid chromatography and post-column derivatization.

Concentrated feeding-stuff samples are extracted with chloroform. Clean-up of the extract is carried out by applying six samples in the middle of a thin-layer plate and developing it first with diethylether. After drying and cutting off a part of the plate, development is carried out in the opposite direction with a mixture of chloroform, acetone and water. The aflatoxin-containing part of the chromatogram is removed and extracted with a mixture of dichloromethane and acetone. In subsequent high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the use of post-column derivatization with iodine in water results in a 50-fold increase in sensitivity, permitting determinations at the microgram/kg level. Recovery is better than 80%, and the detection limit is better than 1 microgram/kg. In the HPLC system described extracts from citrus pulp are eluted after aflatoxin B1.

Aflatoxin B1↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Alteration of biogenic amines in mouse brain regions by alkylating agents. I. Effects of aflatoxin B1 on brain monoamines concentrations and activities of metabolizing enzymes.

Young adult male CD-1 mice were treated orally twice weekly for three weeks with 0, 0.05, 0.15 or 0.65 mg/kg of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in corn oil. Two days after the last dose, the mice were killed by decapitation and the concentrations of the brain catecholamines, norepinephrine (NE), and dopamine (DA), and their metabolites, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxymandelic (VMA), homovanillic acid (HVA) and dihydroxyphenyl acetic acid (DOPAC) and the indoleamine serotonin (5-HT) and its metabolite, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) were determined by high pressure liquid chromatography in six discrete brain regions. Major effects of AFB1 were found in the concentrations of NE in most brain areas. Endogenous concentrations of DA were increased in the striatum and hypothalamus. The VMA level in the hypothalamus and striatum were decreased by the treatment. The activity of tyrosine hydroxylase, tryptophan hydroxylase, amino acid decarboxylase and monoamine oxidase (the enzymes important in synthetic and degradation pathways of biogenic amines) were investigated. Alterations in biogenic amine concentrations were often consistent with the changes observed in metabolizing enzymes. There was an increase noted in tryptophan hydroxylase activity. Activities of amino acid decarboxylase and monoamine oxidase were increased although the changes were not consistent in all regions or at all dose levels of AFB1. These results suggest that dietary exposure to AFB1 diets may cause alterations in various biogenic amine concentrations and related metabolizing enzymes.

Aflatoxin B1↗
PubMed1984

The mutagenic activity of aflatoxin B1 in the Cricetulus griseus hamster and Macaca mulatta monkey.

Chromosome aberrations were scored in bone marrow cells of Cricetulus griseus hamsters and Macaca mulatta monkeys given a single i.p. injection of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). The mutagenic activity of AFB1 was assessed by the percentage of cells bearing aberrations and by the total frequency of chromosome and chromatid breaks. Chinese hamsters were treated with five different doses of AFB1 ranging from 1 microgram to 5 mg/kg (LD50/30 = 12.2 mg/kg) and the aberration yields at each AFB1 dose level tested were determined at 24 h intervals for 5 consecutive days. Compared to controls the increase in the two types of chromosome abnormalities was significant in all tests. At 5 mg/kg of AFB1 the tests were carried out over a period of 92 days to assure the analysis of aberration yields with time. All chromosome aberration assays conducted during this period showed significant increases in the frequencies of aberrant cells and chromosome and chromatid breaks in comparison to controls. Macaque monkeys were treated in the same fashion using 0.1 and 1.0 mg/kg of AFB1 and the dynamics of chromosome aberration yields was analyzed for a period of 730 days. Similarly as in the case of Chinese hamsters the percentage of cells with aberrations and the frequency of chromosome and chromatid breaks were always higher in this period than the control value. Long-term aberration yield data obtained experimentally were expressed in the form of analytical curves which allowed to establish the time when the yields of aberrant cells reached their maxima and when they returned to the control level. In both animal species tested the courses of analytical curves had a similar dynamics. Factors that might be responsible for a long-term persistence and relatively great fluctuations of the chromosome aberration yields encountered after a single injection of AFB1 are discussed in detail.

Aflatoxin B1↗
PubMed1986

Mechanisms of anti-carcinogenesis: the distribution and metabolism of aflatoxin B1 in rainbow trout fed aroclor 1254.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have previously been shown to be inhibitors of carcinogenesis in trout. The mechanism of this inhibition was investigated by studying the effects of PCBs on aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) distribution, metabolism and DNA adduct formation, both in vivo and in vitro. A 24 h distribution study of injected tritiated AFB1 showed more radioactivity in blood, liver and bile in fish fed PCBs, but less in residual carcass. The metabolites of AFB1 found in vivo in blood plasma and liver homogenates were shifted by PCB pretreatment towards greater production of the polar metabolite aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) and glucuronide conjugates. The major metabolite in bile of PCB fish was the glucuronide of aflatoxicol M1 (AFL-M1), which was enhanced 15-fold over controls. Levels of aflatoxicol (AFL) glucuronide, the major conjugate in controls, were unaltered by PCBs. The pattern of AFB1 metabolism in isolated hepatocytes from PCB-prefed fish was consistent with in vivo metabolism. AFB1--DNA adduct formation in a 1 h assay was similar in hepatocytes from PCB-fed and control fish. However, the total rate of AFB1 metabolism was significantly elevated in hepatocytes from PCB-fed fish such that the degree of AFB1--DNA adduct formed per unit AFB1 metabolized was 42% lower than control. Similarly, adduct formation in vivo during the first 24 h post-AFB1 injection in PCB fish was not significantly different from controls. However, over a longer 21 day period, adduct levels in PCB fish were only 48-69% of controls (P less than 0.005, analysis of variance), once peak adduct formation was reached. Thus, initial rates of adduct formation may be misleading in the absence of further information on rates of carcinogen metabolism in vitro and/or pharmacokinetics of peak adduct formation in vivo. These results indicate that PCB inhibition of AFB1 carcinogenesis in trout involves dramatic initial changes in carcinogen distribution, metabolism and elimination which, over time, results in a net reduction of DNA adduct formation.

Aflatoxin B1↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Aflatoxin B1 in peanut meal reference materials: intercomparisons of methods.

The Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) is preparing a series of animal feed reference materials to provide a basis for analytical quality assurance for aflatoxin B1 analysis, a problem of particular importance in view of Community legislation. Before reference values can be assigned to the reference materials the major errors in the underlying measurements must be identified and reduced. This paper presents the results of two intercomparison exercises involving some 20 European laboratories who applied a wide variety of analytical methods. It is shown that the major source of error and discrepancy is connected with incomplete extraction and/or losses during clean-up and that, provided correction for recovery/background interference is made, many methods can achieve acceptable accuracy. Sources of error and their control are discussed, and essential details of the methods used are presented. It is concluded that analytical QA is more important than the use of standardized methods when a high degree of accuracy and comparability are required.

Aflatoxin B1↗
PubMed1991

Bioactivation of aflatoxin B1 by human liver microsomes: role of cytochrome P450 IIIA enzymes.

Based on our previous observations (H. S. Ramsdell and D. L. Eaton, 1990, Cancer Res. 50, 615-620) that the proportion of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) converted to the highly reactive AFB1-8,9-epoxide in microsomal incubations varies with substrate concentration, we have examined the hypothesis of T. Shimada and F. P. Guengerich (1989, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86, 462-465) that cytochrome P450 IIIA4 is principally responsible for the activation (epoxidation) of AFB1 by human liver microsomes. The initial rates of formation of AFB1-8,9-epoxide and hydroxylated AFB1 metabolites were determined in microsomes prepared from livers of organ donors (n = 14) at AFB1 concentrations of 124 and 16 microM. Microsomal oxidation of nifedipine, catalyzed primarily by P450 IIIA enzymes, was also determined by HPLC. Rates of formation of AFB1 metabolites and nifedipine oxidation were poorly correlated at either AFB1 concentration (r2 = 0.13-0.41). A somewhat better correlation between AFB1 epoxidation and nifedipine oxidation was observed at 124 microM AFB1 (r2 = 0.41) than at 16 microM AFB1 (r2 = 0.26). Treatment of pooled microsomes with troleandomycin, an apparently specific inhibitor of P450 IIIA enzymes, resulted in 35% inhibition of AFB1-8,9-epoxide formation at the high AFB1 level but had little effect at 16 microM AFB1. An antibody against rat cytochrome P450 IIIA1 significantly inhibited AFB1 epoxidation at high, but not low, AFB1 concentrations, whereas AFQ1 formation was strongly inhibited at all substrate levels examined. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that cytochrome P450 IIIA enzyme(s) can form AFB1-8,9-epoxide, but are effective at only relatively high substrate concentrations. Another P450 enzyme(s) appears to be principally responsible for AFB1-8,9-epoxide formation at the low AFB1 levels that would be typical for dietary exposures.

Aflatoxin B1↗
PubMed2001

Production of ultrasensitive antibodies against aflatoxin B1.

AIMS: To produce specific antibodies against the haptenic fungal toxin aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and apply these antibodies in immunochemical assays for aflatoxins. METHODS AND RESULTS: Rabbits were immunized using an AFB1-bovine serum albumin conjugate and serum titres determined by double-antibody enzyme immunoassay. High titres of antibodies with very high affinity for AFB1 were obtained 15 and 4 weeks after the initial immunization and the first booster immunization respectively. The antibodies were employed in enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and immunoaffinity chromatography (IAC) methods for aflatoxins. With a detection limit of 15.8 pg ml(-1) for AFB1, the EIA employing these antibodies is the most sensitive test for AFB1 described so far. In IAC columns, these antibodies provided high binding capacity for all major aflatoxins, including AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2. CONCLUSION: The antibodies described here are useful for the analysis of trace levels of aflatoxins. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Polyclonal antibody-based EIA and IAC methods for aflatoxin analysis offer a suitable alternative to the more expensive monoclonal antibody-based methods.

Aflatoxins↗
PubMed1999

Investigation of various extractants for the analysis of aflatoxin B1 in different food and feed matrices.

Various extractants were investigated concerning their suitability for aflatoxin B1 determinations in different matrices including spices, infant formula and animal feed employing an immunoaffinity clean-up procedure. It was shown that the use of aqueous acetonitrile extractants was limited due to the fact that dry sample material can absorb significant amounts of water from the extractant. This can result in recoveries that are too high and therefore in incorrect values for the aflatoxin concentration if aliquots are taken for further analysis. A correction of the results by recovery calculation using spiked blank material is unsuitable, since material from the same group of food (e.g. paprika powder) or feed can vary significantly in the recovery values. Therefore it is recommended that aqueous methanol extractants are used, since no significant interaction with matrix constituents was observed. In addition, aqueous acetone extractants are a useful alternative with some limitations.

Aflatoxin B1↗
PubMed1988

Aflatoxin B1 hydroxylation by the pregnenolone-16 alpha-carbonitrile-inducible form of rat liver microsomal cytochrome P-450.

The effects of treating rats with various pregnenolone-16 alpha-carbonitrile (PCN)-type inducers of cytochrome P-450p on the liver microsomal metabolism of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) were investigated. Treatment of male rats with PCN resulted in a 6-fold increase in the 9-hydroxylation of AFB1 to aflatoxin Q1 (AFQ1). Treatment of female rats with PCN resulted in a 16-fold increase in the formation of AFQ1. The age-dependent decline in constitutive cytochrome P-450p levels in female but not male rats resulted in a sex difference in the formation of AFQ1 in liver microsomes from untreated rats (male:female approximately 3:1). The formation of AFQ1 was stimulated up to 5.4-fold when liver microsomes from triacetyloleandomycin (TAO)-treated rats were treated with potassium ferricyanide, which dissociates the complex between cytochrome P-450p and TAO. Treatment of male rats with the cytochrome P-450p inducer, dexamethasone, increased (approximately 7-fold) the 9-hydroxylation of AFB1 to AFQ1 by liver microsomes, and also enhanced (approximately 2-fold) the microsomal activation of AFB1 to metabolites that were mutagenic to Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100. These results indicate that the 9-hydroxylation of AFB1 to AFQ1 is catalyzed by rat liver microsomal cytochrome P-450p.

Aflatoxin B1↗
PubMed1985

Embryonic exposure to aflatoxin-B1: mutagenicity and influence on development and immunity.

Chick embryos were mutagenized in ovo in order to study developmentally related alterations in immune functions in survivors of this prenatal toxicant insult. In this experimental system, a single exposure of 6-day chick embryos to 0.1 microgram aflatoxin-B1 (AF-B1) in 10 microliters of acetone was employed, and the control embryos received 10 microliters of solvent alone. This dosage of AF-B1 administered to 6-day embryos was found to increase the incidence of sister chromatid exchanges in blood cells approximately fivefold above the baseline observed in solvent controls. A second sham control, where no solvent was administered, was included in some experiments. The cell cycle times in blood increased slightly during the initial exposure to AF-B1. However, a majority of the AF-B1 and acetone exposed embryos survived and hatched without incident. Losses occurred mainly in the latter part of embryogenesis. After hatching, no significant differences were observed in body weight between different treatment groups up to 26 weeks of age and no change in primary humoral immunity was detected. In contrast, two parameters of cell-mediated immunity, graft vs host (GvH), and cutaneous basophil hypersensitivity (CBH) reactions were both depressed as a result of exposure to AF-B1. The AF-B1 treatment group was significantly reduced in the GvH reaction compared with sham-treated controls. In the CBH assay, AF-B1-exposed chicks showed reduced immunity compared with acetone controls. These results suggest that long-term selective immune depression can occur following embryonic exposure to AF-B1.

Aflatoxin B1↗
PubMed1988

Comparative effect of dietary butylated hydroxyanisole and beta-naphthoflavone on aflatoxin B1 metabolism, DNA adduct formation, and carcinogenesis in rainbow trout.

Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and beta-naphthoflavone (BNF), both chemicals with anti-carcinogenic properties in some experimental animals, were compared for effects on aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) metabolism, hepatic DNA adduct formation and carcinogenesis in the rainbow trout. Dietary BHA had no effect on the hepatic tumor incidence when fed at 0.03 or 0.3% 4 weeks prior to and during a 4 week dietary exposure of 10 p.p.b. AFB1. BNF, when fed at 0.005 or 0.05% under similar conditions, significantly reduced tumor response, which confirms previous results in trout (Nixon et al., Carcinogenesis, 5, 615-619, 1984). BHA fed at either 0.03 or 0.3% for 8 weeks had no post-initiation effect on the 52 week hepatic tumor incidence of trout exposed to a 0.5 p.p.m. AFB1 solution as embryos. A similar post-initiation exposure to 0.05% BNF significantly enhanced AFB1 tumor response. The influence of dietary BHA and BNF on AFB1 metabolism and DNA adduct formation and persistence in trout were examined. A 3 week pre-treatment with 0.3% dietary BHA had no effect on in vivo hepatic nuclear AFB1-DNA adduct formation at 0.5, 1, 2 and 7 days after AFB1 i.p. injection. By contrast 0.05% dietary BNF reduced hepatic AFB1-DNA adducts to 33-60% of control levels at 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 days after AFB1 exposure. This was accompanied by significantly lower blood and liver levels of AFB1 during the first 24 h after i.p. injection. Livers of BNF trout also contained 4-fold more of the less carcinogenic metabolite, aflatoxin M1, and 50% less aflatoxicol (AFL), a metabolite with similar carcinogenicity as AFB1. Bile AFL-glucuronide levels were significantly decreased in BNF-fed trout, but total bile glucuronides were significantly increased due to a 15-fold increase in aflatoxicol-M1 glucuronide. Freshly isolated hepatocytes from BHA-fed fish, when incubated with AFB1 for 1 h, showed no difference in levels of AFB1-DNA adducts or ratios of AFB1 metabolites when compared to hepatocytes isolated from fish fed a control diet only. By contrast, dietary BNF has been previously shown to greatly enhance AFM1 production, reduce AFL production, and significantly reduce AFB1-DNA adduct formation in isolated trout hepatocytes (Bailey et al., Natl. Cancer Inst. Monograph, 65, 379-385, 1984). These results indicate that dietary BHA up to 0.3% does not alter AFB1 metabolism or DNA adduction in trout, nor does it inhibit or promote AFB1 hepatocarcinogenesis in this species.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Aflatoxin B1↗
PubMed1985

Effect of repeated dietary exposure of aflatoxin B1 on brain biogenic amines and metabolites in the rat.

Male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated po twice weekly for 3 weeks with a low (32.8 micrograms/kg) and high dose (327.9 micrograms/kg) of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in corn oil. A control group received corn oil only. At the end of the experiment the rats were killed, and the concentrations of the brain catecholamines, norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA), catecholamine metabolites, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxymandelic acid (VMA), homovanillic acid (HVA), and dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), and the indoleamine serotonin (5-HT) and its metabolite, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), were determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography in five brain regions. The major effects were found in striatal dopamine and serotonin concentrations, with decreases of 37 and 29%, respectively. A corresponding decline was observed in the dopamine metabolites, homovanillic acid (44%) and dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (30%). Concentrations of these neurotransmitters and metabolites were only marginally altered in cerebral cortex, cerebellum, hypothalamus, and medulla oblongata. It appears that a major effect of AFB1 is on dopaminergic pathways, possible by selectively perturbing the conversion of tyrosine to biogenic catecholamine neurotransmitters.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗
PubMed1986

Comparison of S9 mix and hepatocytes as external metabolizing systems in mammalian cell cultures: cytogenetic effects of 7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene and aflatoxin B1.

Two external metabolizing systems, S9 mix from Aroclor-induced rat livers and freshly isolated hepatocytes, were used for activation in cultures of human lymphocytes and V79 cells. 7, 12-dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA) and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) were employed as indirectly acting reference mutagens. Mutagenic effects were measured by induction of sister chromatid exchange (SCE). With DMBA, SCE-inducing effects were found to be quite similar after activation by S9 mix and activation by hepatocytes. In human lymphocytes nearly the same dose-effect relationships were found with both metabolizing systems; in V79 cells the hepatocyte-mediated induction of SCE was detectable at slightly lower concentrations than the S9-mediated SCE induction. In contrast with AFB1, S9 activation led to a stronger SCE induction than hepatocyte activation in both target cells. The induction of chromosomal aberrations by AFB1 after activation by the two metabolizing systems was also analysed in V79 cells. This experiment again revealed that AFB1 was more efficiently activated by S9 mix than by hepatocytes, and it appeared that AFB1 is a more potent inducer of chromosomal aberrations than of SCE. The different activation capacities of the two metabolizing systems for AFB1 may be due to the maintenance of inactivation mechanisms in hepatocytes or to the Aroclor induction of the S9 fraction. Our experiments have shown that the suitability of hepatocytes as an activation system is not restricted to microbial or eukaryotic point mutation assays, but that hepatocyte metabolism can also be successfully included in cytogenetic tests with short- and long-term cultures of mammalian target cells.

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗
PubMed1983

Reversion by vitamin K of aflatoxin B1 (AFB)-induced inhibition of oxygen uptake in three AFB-susceptible bacteria.

The effect of Vitamin K, on the inhibition of oxygen uptake in Bacillus brevis (2611), Bacillus megaterium (1368) and Flavobacterium aurantiacum by aflatoxin B1 (AFB) has been investigated. At 1.5 mM, vitamin K completely reversed oxygen inhibition by 10 micrograms/ml AFB in the three bacteria and by 50 micrograms/ml AFB in B. brevis, the most susceptible of the three bacteria to AFB. Vitamin K did not reverse the inhibitory effect of 100 micrograms/ml AFB in any of the three bacteria except B. megaterium, neither did 1.5 mM 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) reverse the inhibition at 10 micrograms/ml and 100 micrograms/ml levels of AFB in any of the three bacteria.

2,4-Dinitrophenol↗
PubMed1991

Promotion of aflatoxin B1 carcinogenesis by the natural tumor modulator indole-3-carbinol: influence of dose, duration, and intermittent exposure on indole-3-carbinol promotional potency.

Indole-3-carbinol (13C), a secondary metabolite from cruciferous vegetables, inhibits aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) hepatocarcinogenesis in trout (Bailey et al., J. Natl. Cancer Inst., 78: 931-934, 1987) and rats (Selivonchick et al., unpublished results) when given prior to and with carcinogen but promotes carcinogenesis in both species when given continuously following AFB1 initiation. Since human 13C intake may not be continuous, and the promotional stimulation may be reversible, we have assessed 13C promotion using delayed and discontinuous exposure protocols. Following initiation with AFB1, 13C was fed to trout for varying periods of time, with varying lengths of delay after initiation and continuous or intermittent patterns of 13C treatment. Promotional enhancement of tumor incidence by 13C was found to be significant when 13C treatment was delayed for several weeks or months after the initial AFB1 challenge. Promotion also was found to increase with length of exposure to 13C treatment and to be decreased but still evident when 13C was given in alternating months or weeks, or twice per week only. These results do not support the idea that promotional stimulation in hepatocarcinogenesis is a reversible phenomenon. To quantify 13C promotional potency in terms of its dietary concentration, a series of AFB1 tumor dose-response curves was established, each with a different level of 13C fed continuously following AFB1 initiation. The resultant tumor dose-response curves, plotted as logit percentage of incidence versus log AFB1 dose, were displaced parallel toward lower AFB1 50% tumor take (TD50) values with increasing 13C concentration. The level of 13C that halves the AFB1 dose for 50% tumor incidence was calculated to be approximately 1000 ppm 13C, fed continuously, with no substantial threshold for promotion. By comparison, 13, when fed before and with AFB1, shows a 50% inhibitory value (13C concentration that doubles the dose of AFB1 for 50% tumor incidence) in trout of 1400 ppm 13C [Dashwood et al., Carcinogenesis (Lond.), 10: 175-181, 1989]. Thus the potential for 13C as a dietary additive to promote prior hepatic initiation events when fed continuously is approximately as great as its potential to inhibit concurrent AFB1 initiation.

Aflatoxin B1↗