Vitamin D₂ from UVB light exposed mushrooms modulates immune response to LPS in rats.

Scope: Poor vitamin D (vitD) status is linked to increased risk of infectious diseases, thus there is need for vitD-rich foods. UVB-exposed mushrooms synthesize vitD₂ but knowledge of bioavailability and function in immune response is lacking.

Methods And Results: One hundred rats were fed one of five diets--control, 20 IU vitD₃/day; no vitD₃/day; 5% unexposed mushroom, 2.

Vitamin D2 from light-exposed edible mushrooms is safe, bioavailable and effectively supports bone growth in rats.

Unlabelled: Widespread poor vitamin D status, a health risk for bone disease, increases the need for new food sources of vitamin D. Light-exposed edible mushrooms synthesize vitamin D(2). Bioavailability, safety, and efficacy of high levels of vitamin D(2) from mushrooms to support bone health was established in chronically fed growing rats.

Rat liver clone-9 cells in culture as a model for screening hepatotoxic potential of food-related products: hepatotoxicity of deoxynivalenol.

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a mycotoxin food contaminant found in several cereal grains. The literature on the liver toxicity of DON in vivo is conflicting and does not clearly characterize its hepatotoxic effects. Cultured rat liver clone-9 cells were used as a model to assess the hepatotoxic potential of DON.

Acute oral toxicity of colchicine in rats: effects of gender, vehicle matrix and pre-exposure to lipopolysaccharide.

The oral toxicity of a single administration by gavage (10, 20 or 30 mg kg(-1) body weight) of colchicine (COL) was determined in young, mature male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. The effect of COL was evaluated in the presence or absence of additional treatment variables that included vehicle and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) pre-exposure. The vehicle for COL was either Half and Half cream (H & H) or saline, and each group included pretreatment with either saline or a low, minimally toxic dose (83 microg kg(-1) body weight) of LPS.

Pathological evaluation, clinical chemistry and plasma cholecystokinin in neonatal and young miniature swine fed soy trypsin inhibitor from 1 to 39 weeks of age.

The potential toxicity of dietary soy trypsin inhibitor (TI) was evaluated in neonatal miniature swine. From 1 to 6 weeks of age, two groups of male piglets were artificially reared in an Autosow and automatically fed either TI or control liquid diet. From 6 to 39 weeks of age, these two groups were fed either TI or control chow diet.