Organ weights, liver constituents, and serum components in growing chicks fed ochratoxin A.

Chicks were fed diets containing 0, 1, 5 and 10 mg/kg ochratoxin A (OA) over a four-week period to study the effects of OA on growth, weight of internal organs, liver RNA, DNA, protein, and glycogen and serum enzymes. Ochratoxin A depressed the rate of growth and relative weight of the bursa of Fabricius, and increased the relative weights of the liver, kidney, pancreas, and various sections of the gastrointestinal tract, but had no effect on the heart and spleen. Concentrations of liver RNA, DNA and protein were decreased while glycogen was increased. Serum alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyl transferase activities, and uric acid and creatinine concentrations were elevated while serum proteins, albumin, phosphorus, potassium, and cholesterol were depressed. The effects of OA were time- and dose-dependent.