IARC MONOGRAPHS ON THE EVALUATION OF CARCINOGENIC ...

Aflatoxins were detected in 14 of 64 (37.8%) cord blood samples from jaundiced
neonates compared with 9 of 60 (22.5%) samples from non-jaundiced control babies in
another study in Nigeria, but the difference was not statistically significant (Ahmed
et al., 1995).
Aflatoxins were detected in 37% of cord blood samples in a study of 125 pregnancies
in rural Kenya, with 53% of maternal blood samples being aflatoxin-positive. There was
no correlation between aflatoxins in maternal and cord blood. A significantly lower mean
birth weight of infants born to aflatoxin-positive mothers was recorded for female
babies, but not for males (De Vries et al., 1989).
In cord blood collected from 625 babies in Nigeria, aflatoxins were detected in
14.6% of the samples. There was no significant difference in birth weight between the
groups positive or negative for aflatoxins (Maxwell et al., 1994).
In a study of the presence of the imidazole ring-opened form of aflatoxin B 1–DNA
adducts (see Figure 3) in placenta and cord blood, 69 of 120 (57.5%) placentas contained
the adduct at 0.6–6.3 μmol/mol DNA and 5 of 56 (8.9%) cord blood samples contained
the adduct at 1.4–2.7 μmol/mol DNA. The results indicate that transplacental transfer of
aflatoxin B 1 and its metabolites to the progeny is possible (Hsieh & Hsieh, 1993).
A random sampling of semen from adult men, comprising 50 samples collected from
infertile men and 50 samples from fertile men from the same community in Nigeria,
revealed the presence of aflatoxin B 1 in 40% of samples from infertile men compared
with 8% in fertile men. The mean concentration of aflatoxins in semen of the infertile
men was significantly higher than that in semen of fertile men. Infertile men with aflatoxin
in their semen showed a higher percentage of spermatozoal abnormalities (50%)
than the fertile men (10–15%) (Ibeh et al., 1994).
4.3.2 Experimental systems
(a) Developmental toxicity studies
Behavioural effects were observed in offspring born to Jcl:Wistar rats given subcutaneous
injections of 0.3 mg/kg bw aflatoxin B 1 per day on gestation days 11–14 or 15–18.
At birth, the number of live pups and their body weight were lower than those of
controls. There were no effects on maternal body weight during gestation or lactation.
The exposure produced a delay in early response development, impaired locomotor coordination
and impaired learning ability. Exposure on days 11–14 of gestation appeared to
produce more effects than later exposure (Kihara et al., 2000).
Aflatoxin B 1 produced embryonic mortality and decreased embryo weight and length
when injected into embryonating chicken eggs. The number of abnormal embryos was
not significantly increased (Edrington et al., 1995).
(b) Reproductive toxicity studies
AFLATOXINS 227
Effects suggesting severe impairment of fertility, i.e., reductions in ovarian and
uterine size, increases in fetal resorption, disturbances of estrus cyclicity, inhibition of