Protective and Therapeutic Effects of Lactic Acid Bacteria against Aflatoxin B1 Toxicity to Rat Organs

Hayat Ashi; Meshal H K Almalki; Enas A Hamed; Wafaa S Ramadan; Tahani F H Alahmadi; Outour Tariq Alami; Sara H Arafa; Atheer K Alshareef; Fatimah S Alsulami; Areej F Alharbi; Manahil S Al-Harbi; Ebtehal H Alqurashi; Shirin Aashi; Youssef A Alzahrani; Khaled Elbanna; Hussein H Abulreesh

doi:10.3390/microorganisms11071703

Protective and Therapeutic Effects of Lactic Acid Bacteria against Aflatoxin B1 Toxicity to Rat Organs

Microorganisms. 2023 Jun 29;11(7):1703. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11071703.

Authors

Hayat Ashi^{1

2}, Meshal H K Almalki^{1

2}, Enas A Hamed³, Wafaa S Ramadan⁴, Tahani F H Alahmadi^{1

2}, Outour Tariq Alami^{1

2}, Sara H Arafa^{1

2}, Atheer K Alshareef^{1

2}, Fatimah S Alsulami^{1

2}, Areej F Alharbi^{1

2}, Manahil S Al-Harbi^{1

2}, Ebtehal H Alqurashi^{1

2}, Shirin Aashi⁵, Youssef A Alzahrani⁵, Khaled Elbanna^{1

2

6}, Hussein H Abulreesh^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology, Faculty of Applied Science, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia.
² Research Laboratories Unit, Faculty of Applied Science, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Medical Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt.
⁴ Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ College of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Fayoum University, Fayoum 63514, Egypt.

Abstract

Background: Aflatoxin (AF), a metabolite of Aspergillus flavus, is injurious to vital body organs. The bacterial defense against such mycotoxins has attracted significant attention. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are known to ameliorate AF toxicity.

Methods: Thirty adult male rats were divided into six groups (five each) to perform the experiments. The control (Co) group was fed a basal diet and water. Each of the following periods lasted 21 days: the milk (MK) group orally received milk (500 µL); LAB suspension (500 µL) containing 10⁷ cfu/mL was orally provided to the LAB group; AF (0.5 mg/kg) was orally given to the AF group; and a combination of AF and LAB was administered to the AF + LAB group. The AF/LAB group was initially given AF for 21 days, followed by LAB for the same period. Finally, the rats were dissected to retrieve blood and tissue samples for hematological, biochemical, and histological studies.

Results: The results revealed a significant decrease in RBCs, lymphocytes, total proteins, eosinophil count, albumin, and uric acid, whereas the levels of WBCs, monocytes, neutrophils, creatinine, urea, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, and creatinine kinase significantly increased in the AF group in comparison to the control group. The histological examination of the AF group revealed necrosis and apoptosis of the kidney's glomeruli and renal tubules, nuclei vacuolization and apoptosis of hepatocytes, congestion of the liver's dilated portal vein, lymphoid depletion in the white pulp, localized hemorrhages, hemosiderin pigment deposition in the spleen, and vacuolization of seminiferous tubules with a complete loss of testis spermatogenic cells. Meanwhile, protective and therapeutic LAB administration in AF-treated rats improved the hematological, biochemical, and histological changes.

Conclusions: The study revealed LAB-based amelioration to AFB1-induced disruptions of the kidney, liver, spleen, and testis by inhibiting tissue damage. The therapeutic effects of LAB were comparatively more pronounced than the protective effects.

Keywords: aflatoxin; kidney; lactic acid bacteria; liver; protective; rats; spleen; structure; testes; therapeutic.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.