Acute toxicity of aflatoxin B 1 in the macaque monkey

Twenty-four young female macaque monkeys were given 0, 0.5, 1.5, 4.5, 13.5, or 40.5 mg of crystalline aflatoxin B 1 per kg body wt by oral administration. The LD50 for aflatoxin B 1 was 7.8 mg/kg for a test period of 148 hr. Aflatoxin B 1 could be detected in brain, liver, kidney, heart, blood, and bile in some of the animals 148 hr after toxin administration. The response of these monkeys to acutely toxic doses of aflatoxin B 1 was strikingly similar to an acute children's disease of unknown etiology seen in Thailand.