Abstract:
Fungi are extremely adaptable organisms with the capacity to metabolize a large variety of
substrates over a wide range of environmental conditions and are produced only under
aerobic conditions. Aflatoxin contamination is promoted by stress or damage to crops due to
drought prior to harvest and inadequate drying during storage. High concentrations of
aflatoxins above acceptable levels are in some instances found mainly in feed grains
particularly maize and groundnuts in the tropics. Aflatoxins are secondary metabolites that
pose serious hazards to animal and human beings. Their severity and effect of poisoning
depends on age, where younger animals are more prone than mature ones. Different sexes
of particular species of animals, duration of exposure and the amount of aflatoxin being
consumed cause different effects. The experimental rabbits were kept inside a housing
structure which had wide windows closed with a combination of welded and chicken wire
mesh to ensure free air circulation, but protected from entry of birds and predators. The
house was reinforced against rodents, though rodenticides were used to check any possible
presence of rats. The rabbit house was well ventilated, with sufficient light through
translucent iron sheets at the roof and wide windows to ensure 12-hour light with a room
temperature of 18 – 22 o C. One rabbit was picked at random from each of the four
treatments to be taken to the laboratory to harvest the uterus and fallopian tubes to
determine their effects following intake of aflatoxin laced feeds. At the laboratory, the
rabbits were kept in air tight glass cages for 30 minutes with a piece of cotton wool that was
socked with 37% formalin inside to bring them into unconscious state, meant to facilitate
humane sacrificing for purposes of harvesting the structural tissues, which were there after
preserved in 37% formalin solution before sectioning it for microscopy. The abdomen was
opened and the uterus and fallopian tubes harvested for preparation of histological sections
in readiness for microscopic examination. The organs were treated with a fixative at the
ratio of 2:1 for formalin and tissue at room temperature and allowed to dry for 12 hours.
The tissues were fixed, embedded in paraffin wax, sectioned, stained using hematoxylin and
eosin, put onto the slides and examined using the microscope. The features of the cells in
treatments 1 and 2 as observed appeared productive as indication of the uterus’
proliferative stage. There was mild focal aggregation of acute inflammatory neutrophil cells
in the lamina propria in the submucosa of the endometrium of the uterus observed in
treatment 2. The uteri in treatments 3 and 4 revealed marked necrosis of the lining of both
the epithelium and the endometrium. Degeneration of the lining of epithelium of the uterine.glands, appearing as vacuoles with mild leucocytic cell infiltration into the submucosa and
lamina propria and focal necrosis of lamina epithelialis were observed. Examination of the
cross-section of the fallopian tubes showed minor effects in treatments 3 and 4. These
defects manifested as vacuolization of the lining of the epithelium of the endometrium. In
conclusion, aflatoxin inclusion in New Zealand white rabbit diets at levels above 100 ppb
has serious defects on both the uterus and fallopian tube to the extent that it may affect the
reproductive function of the rabbits.