Brain and hypophyseal acetylcholinesterase activity of pubertal boars fed dietary fumonisin B1

The effects of dietary fumonisin B(1) (FB(1)) on regional brain and hypophyseal activities of AChE (EC 3117), the enzyme which catalyses the hydrolysis of acetylcholine, were studied using 24 male Large White weanling pigs divided into four groups. Each group received one of the four diets containing 0.2, 5.0, 10.0 and 15.0 mg FB(1)/kg in a 6-month feeding trial. All animals were slaughtered at the end of the feeding trial; the brains and the hypophyses obtained were carefully dissected out. Significant (p < 0.05) influence of dietary FB(1) on regional brain and hypophyseal AChE activities were observed. The AChE activities in the pons, amygdala, hypothalamus and the medulla oblongata declined significantly (p < 0.05) with increased dietary FB(1) concentrations. The findings of this study suggest that diets containing 5.0 mg FB(1)/kg and above significantly (p < 0.05) altered regional brain and hypophyseal AChE activities in the animals. Dietary exposure to FB(1) at a concentration of approximately 5.0 mg/kg or more for a 6-month period is a potential health risk that may induce adverse physiological response resulting from altered brain neurochemistry in growing pigs.