The toxicokinetics of the food and feed contaminant Fumonisin B (FB) are characterized by low oral absorption and rapid plasma elimination. For these reasons, FB is not considered to accumulate in animals. However, recent studies in chicken and turkey showed that, in these species, the hepatic half-elimination time of fumonisin B1 (FB1) was several days, suggesting that FB1 may accumulate in the body. For the present study, 21-day-old chickens received a non-toxic dose of around 20 mg FB1 + FB2/kg of feed to investigate whether FB can accumulate in the body over time. Measurements taken after four and nine days of exposure revealed increased concentrations of sphinganine (Sa) and sphingosine (So) over time in the liver, but no sign of toxicity and no effect on performances were observed at this level of FB in feed. Measurements of FB in tissues showed that FB1 accumulated in chicken livers from four to nine days, with concentrations of 20.3 and 32.1 ng FB1/g observed, respectively, at these two exposure periods. Fumonisin B2 (FB2) also accumulated in the liver, from 0.79 ng/g at four days to 1.38 ng/g at nine days. Although the concentrations of FB found in the muscles was very low, an accumulation of FB1 over time was observed in this tissue, with concentrations of 0.036 and 0.072 ng FB1/g being measured after four and nine days of exposure, respectively. Feeding algo-clay to the chickens reduced the accumulation of FB1 in the liver and muscle by , approximately 40 and 50% on day nine, respectively. By contrast, only a weak non-significant effect was observed on day four. The decrease in the concentration of FB observed in tissues of chickens fed FB plus algo-clay on day nine was accompanied by a decrease in Sa and So contents in the liver compared to the levels of Sa and So measured in chickens fed FB alone. FB1 in the liver and Sa or So contents were correlated in liver tissue, confirming that both FB1 and Sa are suitable biomarkers of FB exposure in chickens. Further studies are necessary to determine whether FB can accumulate at higher levels in chicken tissues with an increase in the time of exposure and in the age of the animals.
Keywords: algo clay; broiler chicken; feed; food; fumonisin; liver; muscle; residues.