Assessment of Efficacy of Activated Charcoal for Treatment of Acute T-2 Toxin Poisoning,
Abstract
T-2 toxin secondary metabolite produced by a variety of Fusarium fungi. This trichothecene mycotoxin is highly toxic and has produced illness and death in humans and livestock after ingestion of food or grain contaminated with fungal toxins. Oral exposure to T-2 toxin has profound effects on rapidly dividing tissues. Thus, the spleen, testes, thymus, bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract, and hair follicles all show significant necrosis. One of the most consistent and well-defined effects of T-2 toxin in several animal species is the dramatic cytotoxic changes in the gastrointestinal tract. After parenteral, topical, or oral exposure, there is a severe an prolonged diarrhea, accompanied by increased intestinal permeability. The severe gastrointestinal effects of T-2 toxin may be a result of the preferential excretion of T-2 toxin metabolites via the bile into the intestine. Activated charcoal might be effective in decreasing lethality by binding toxin metabolites in the gastrointestinal tract. The toxic compounds would therefore remain in the gastrointestinal tract, decreasing the reabsorption via enterohepatic recirculation. In the studies presented here, efficacy of activated charcoal for treatment of both oral and parenteral toxin exposure was assessed. All of the mice in the group treated immediately with activated charcoal were protected against the lethal effects of T-2 toxin. If treatment was delayed for 1 hr, the percent survival was lower than that of the group treated immediately. The percent survival of animals in the delayed treatment was, however, significantly higher than in the control group.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 14, 1986
- Accession Number
- ADA190152
Entities
People
- Juan M. Jorge
- Robert F. Fricke
Organizations
- United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases