Abstract

This study was conducted for the determination of the combined effect of aflatoxin and Toxoplasma gondii on malondialdehyde, glutathione levels, and stress index in sixty young inbred Swiss female albino mice BALB/C, which were randomly divided into six equal groups; Group 1(untreated control) animals were maintained without any treatment; group 2 were injected intraperitonealy with T. gondii tissue cysts; groups 3 and 4 were fed diets contaminated with 0.5 and 1 ppm aflatoxin respectively; group 5 and 6 were fed 0.5 and 1 ppm aflatoxin and injected with T. gondii tissue cysts. All animals were maintained for 40 days. One ml, containing 100 Toxoplasma gondii tissue cysts was obtained from brain tissue of naturally infected local breed rabbit was injected intraperitonealy. Aflatoxins (AFs) were prepared through inoculation of rice with Aspergillus parasiticus NRRL 2999 and were incorporated into the diet to provide the described level of 0.5 and 1 ppm. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were taken to determine Heterophils/lymphopcytes ratio (H/L), while brain was taken to determine glutathione and malondialdehyde concentration. Results showed that mice injected with T. gondii tissue cysts alone and those groups fed aflatoxin at both rates of 0.5 and 1 ppm were exhibited a significant (P<0.05) increase in H/L ratio, and malondialdehyde, while there is a significant (P<0.05) reduction on the level of glutathione. The results revealed that aflatoxin could exacerbate T. gondii infection and induce stress through suppression of glutathione and elevation of malondialdehyde concentration and H/L ratio.