Short communication, Note
Tremorgenic effects of mould extracts isolated in wood industry tested in rats
R. Fuchs
; Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
C.J. Land
; The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
K. Hult
; The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
H. Lundström
; The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
Abstract
Among workers in the Swedish wood industry acute alveolitis, known as “woodtrimmer's disease” has been recognized for some time. One of the signs in the acute phase of the disease is transitory tremor. The etiology of the disease is still not clearly understood, but it is assumed to be associated with wood dust containing fungal spores. One of the dominant fungal strains isolated from wood at the saw-mills was found to be Aspergillus fumigatus. As it is known that Aspergillus fumigatus has the ability to produce tremorgenic mycotoxins, the moulds from the working environment were isolated, cultivated and tested for the ability to produce mycotoxins, to estimate a possible relation between fungal spores and tremorgenic effects. Extracts of moulds were prepared and tested on rats after oral administration. The ability to induce tremors in rats was found in six out of nine extracts tested. A very good agreement was found between the results of the chemical analysis of extracts and those of the study in vivo. The results imply that woodtrimmer's disease may at least partly, be mycotoxicosis.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
152596
URI
Publication date:
15.6.1989.
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