TOXIC EFFECTS ON TROUTS, RATS, AND MICE OF T-2 TOXIN PRODUCED BY FUNGUS FUSARIUM TRICINCTUM (CD) SNYD ET HANS

Fusarium tricinctum occurs frequently on corn and other cereals. A metabolite of this fungus, T-2 toxin, 4,15-diacetoxy-8-(3-methylbutyryloxy)-12,13-epoxy-Δ9-trichothecen-3-ol, is acutely toxic to rats and rainbow trout (Salmo gairdnerii). Low doses (200 and 400 ppb) of this toxin administered in the feed for 12 months failed to induce hepatoma in trout and actually had a growthpromoting effect. Mature fish survived acute doses of the toxin higher than the single LD50 for fingerlings, although such doses caused shedding of the intestinal mucosa. Albino rats fed diets containing 5 and 15 ppm of T-2 toxin for 3 weeks were severely stunted in growth and developed inflammations of the skin around the nose and mouth and small areas of focal fatty change and cytoplasmic degeneration in the liver. Rats receiving a diet containing 10 ppm of T-2 toxin for 8 months consumed approximately 20 times the single LD50 without any apparent ill effects and without any indication of hepatoma development. Topical application of T-2 toxin to rat skin resulted in extensive inflammation and tissue necrosis. Mice treated with T-2 toxin as initiator and croton oil as cocarcinogen failed to develop any papillomas. Four papillomas developed on two mice of a group of 20 treated with 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene followed by applications of T-2 toxin. © 1969.