Hepato- and cardiotoxicity of xanthoascin, a new metabolite of A. candidus Link, to mice. I. Blood chemistry and histological changes in mice.

Aspergillus candidus Link, one of the commonest constituents of cereal mycoflora, produces two kinds of mycotoxins, terphenyllin and xanthoascin, which show different chemical and toxicological properties. The latter, xanthoascin, caused severe hepatic injury with jaundice and focal or confluent necrosis of hepatocytes, when given to mice in doses of 6 mg/kg b.w. or higher by a single subcutaneous injection. With higher doses above 15 mg/kg, myocardial degeneration and necrosis was induced after a week or two in addition to the hepatic injury. Vacuolation of the nuclei of the alveolar interstitial cells of the lung and myocardial interstitial cells was another characteristic lesion caused by this mycotoxin. Other organs including the testicles and thymus were widely involved. The unique nature of lesions in the liver and heart may necessitate further investigations in the field of mycotoxicology in relation to human diseases such as nutritional hepatitis and primary myocardial degeneration.