Counteraction of the toxicity of aflatoxin B1 by thymine and folic acid in experimental animals.

Four groups of 6 mice were given a stock diet and 0.2 ml 50% ethanol (control), a single dose of thymine and aflatoxin B1 at 22 or 9 mg/kg bodyweight, (LD50) respectively, or a single dose of a combination of thymine and aflatoxin. Injecting thymine with aflatoxin B1 reduced the mortality from 3 to 1 of 6. In Wistar rats mortality decreased from 5 of 8 when aflatoxin only was injected to 2 and 3 of 8, respectively, when thymine and folic acid were injected with the aflatoxin. Giving aflatoxin B1 in the diet at 5% of LD50 to Wistar rats for 3 months led to marked hypertrophy and hydropic degeneration of the hepatocytes, reduction in liver DNA content and increase in liver weight. Those changes were significantly reduced by giving thymine or a combination of thymine and folic acid with the toxin.