Effects of aflatoxin B1 on the development of chicken thymus and blood lymphocyte alpha-naphthyl acetate esterase activity

Abstract

In this study, the depressive effects of AFB1 on the embryonic development of chicken thymus were determined by histological methods and by histochemical demonstration of alpha-naphthyl acetate esterase (ANAE) enzyme. ANAE positivity frequencies of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) were also determined. Embryonic stages were determined according to the Hamburger-Hamilton (H-H) scale. Thymic development was quite similar on day 7 of incubation in all control and AFB1 groups. In contrast, the development was substantially impaired and retarded on day 10 of incubation in the 20 and 40 ng/egg AFB1 groups. The ANAE positivity was first detected on the 18th day of incubation in a minority (2%) of PBL. The proportions of PBL and their ANAE positivity frequencies were significantly (P<0.05) lower in AFB1 treated groups than in the controls on the day of hatching.