In silico approximation to aflatoxin B₁ metabolism and sensitivity in commercial poultry species based on empirical mathematical equations

Enzyme kinetic parameters for aflatoxin B₁ metabolism have been reported for chicken, quail, turkey and duck, but an integrated in silico model has not been proposed. Both enzyme-catalyzed reactions and spontaneous reactions were modeled in the CellDesigner software and results were adjusted to Hill, Rational and Hoerl models. Results revealed that the higher amount of aflatoxin B₁ epoxide produced in a short lapse of time and a low production of epoxide conjugated to glutathione explains the severe genotoxic effect of aflatoxin B₁ in duck. Also, the higher amount of aflatoxicol produced is time-associated to aflatoxin B₁ resistance in chicken. Finally, the cytotoxic effects in quail and duck are caused by a large aflatoxin B₁ dialdehyde production in a short period of time.