For years scientists have suspected that the environment plays a role in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis. Mycotoxin fumonisin B1 (FB1) is produced by several Fusarium species, mainly by Fusarium verticilioides, which is one of the most common fungi associated with corn worldwide. Fumonisins are known to cause equine leukoencephalomalacia, a disease associated with the consumption of corn-based feeds contaminated with FB1. Here we have reported chronic experimental toxicosis in one-year-old carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) receiving feed containing 100 mg kg-1 or 10 mg kg-1 of added FB1 for 42 days. We focused on fumonisin toxicity in the fish brain. After staining with hemalaun-eosin, histology of the fish brain revealed vacuolated, degenerate, or necrotic neural cells, scattered around damaged blood capillaries and in the periventricular area. These findings suggest that fumonisin, although it is a hydrophilic molecule, permeated the blood-brain barrier of young carp and had a toxic effect on neuronal cells.
