The response of dietary stressed Periplaneta americana to chronic intake of pure aflatoxin B.

In general these studies seem to indicate that adult male P. americana are not particularly sensitive, toxicologically, to aflatoxin B1, even when maintained on a marginally inadequate diet containing a low level of sucrose and no protein. Also they may be capable of detecting low levels of aflatoxin B1 in their diet (12 mug/ml) and seem not to concentrate aflatoxin B1 in their bodies. Even in dietary stressed conditions adult male American cockroaches showed a very limited potential as a bioassay organism for this toxin. Actually it appears that they may be quite resistant to the toxin. Currently there is no definite answer as to the advantages or disadvantages of insufficient dietary proteins or even carbohydrates providing protection against this toxin. The results show that the toxin would not be an effective cockroach-killing agent and thus could not serve as a bioassay system. However, this insect could serve as a model system in further investigating the mode of action and possible detoxification of aflatoxin B1.