Frequency of chromosomal aberrations in the evaluation of genotoxic potential of dicyclohexylamine (fumagillin) in vivo

Screening of Dietary Ingredients against the Honey Bee Parasite Nosema ceranae

Nosema ceranae is a major pathogen in the beekeeping sector, responsible for nosemosis. This disease is hard to manage since its symptomatology is masked until a strong collapse of the colony population occurs. Conversely, no medicaments are available in the market to counteract nosemosis, and only a few feed additives, with claimed antifungal action, are available. New solutions are strongly required, especially based on natural methods alternative to veterinary drugs that might develop resistance or strongly pollute honey bees and the environment. This study aims at investigating the nosemosis antiparasitic potential of some plant extracts, microbial fermentation products, organic acids, food chain waste products, bacteriocins, and fungi. Honey bees were singularly infected with 5 × 104 freshly prepared N. ceranae spores, reared in cages and fed ad libitum with sugar syrup solution containing the active ingredient. N. ceranae in the gut of honey bees was estimated using qPCR. The results showed that some of the ingredients administered, such as acetic acid at high concentration, p-coumaric acid, and Saccharomyces sp. strain KIA1, were effective in the control of nosemosis. On the other hand, wine acetic acid strongly increased the N. ceranae amount. This study investigates the possibility of using compounds such as organic acids or biological agents including those at the base of the circular economy, i.e., wine waste production, in order to improve honeybee health.

Fumagillin: an overview of recent scientific advances and their significance for apiculture

Fumagillin is a potent fungal metabolite first isolated from Aspergillus fumigatus. It is widely used in apiculture and human medicine against a variety of microsporidian fungal infections. It has been the subject of research in cancer treatments by employing its angiogenesis inhibitory properties. The toxicity of fumagillin has limited its use for human applications and spurred the development of analogues using structure-activity relationships relating to its angiogenesis properties. These discoveries may hold the key to the development of alternative chemical treatments for use in apiculture. The toxicity of fumagillin to humans is important for beekeeping, because any residues remaining in hive products pose a direct risk to the consumer. The analytical methods published to date measure fumagillin and its decomposition products but overlook the dicyclohexylamine counterion of the salt form widely used in apiculture.

Fumagillin-induced chromosome aberrations in mouse bone-marrow cells

The genotoxicity of fumagillin was evaluated assessing the mitotic index and chromosome aberrations in mouse bone-marrow cells. Mice were given fumagillin orally in doses 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg bw. All doses significantly (p<0.001) reduced the mitotic index. The medium and maximum doses led to significant (p<0.01 and p<0.001, respectively) increases in numeric aberrations. The highest dose induced both structural and numeric aberrations (p<0.001), and insertions on the first pair of autosomes that were amplified in the 1C and 1E regions. These results pointed to the genotoxic potential of fumagillin in the range of medium and maximum doses applied. <br><br><font color="red"><b> This article has been retracted. Link to the retraction <u><a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2298/ABS150320032E">10.2298/ABS150320032E</a><u></b></font>