Table 4.
Differential blood cell counts and micronuclei (MN) occurrence in zearalenone (ZEN)-treated fish and in fish after recovery of two weeks, n = 6 per group, mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM); asterisks indicate means that are significantly different from control fish (significance tested with Mann-Whitney U-tests, p < 0.05).
| Blood cell counts | Basal feed | Low ZEN | Medium ZEN | High ZEN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZEN-treated | ||||
| leukocytes [% total blood cells] | 3.4 ± 0.20 | 3.7 ± 0.31 | 3.4 ± 0.35 | 3.1 ± 0.32 |
| lymphocytes [% all white blood cells] | 60.9 ± 2.06 | 58.1 ± 3.83 | 63.3 ± 4.87 | 60.9 ± 2.42 |
| thrombocytes [% all white blood cells] | 31.1 ± 2.92 | 32.1 ± 2.81 | 27.6 ± 4.37 | 30.0 ± 2.89 |
| monocytes [% all white blood cells] | 4.8 ± 0.49 | 4.2 ± 0.61 | 2.9 ± 0.40 * | 3.1 ± 0.30 * |
| granulocytes [% all white blood cells] | 3.2 ± 0.78 | 5.7 ± 1.69 | 6.2 ± 1.34 * | 6.1 ± 0.85 * |
| MN in erythrocytes [per 1000 cells] | 12.9 ± 5.13 | 43.5 ± 9.66 * | 29.9 ± 2.92 * | 36.54 ± 7.5 * |
| Recovery | ||||
| leukocytes [% total blood cells] | 3.6 ± 0.54 | 2.8 ± 0.32 | 4.9 ± 0.50 | 2.7 ± 0.36 |
| lymphocytes [% all white blood cells] | 59.6 ± 3.30 | 59.3 ± 1.56 | 65.6 ± 3.80 | 64.0 ± 4.92 |
| thrombocytes [% all white blood cells] | 34.3 ± 2.77 | 30.2 ± 2.41 | 29.8 ± 3.39 | 29.0 ± 4.95 |
| monocytes [% all white blood cells] | 2.6 ± 0.49 | 3.8 ± 0.97 | 2.8 ± 0.44 | 2.5 ± 0.40 |
| granulocytes [% all white blood cells] | 3.4 ± 0.50 | 6.7 ± 1.43 | 1.8 ± 0.34 | 4.7 ± 1.01 |
* significantly different means compared with control fish (significance tested with Mann-Whitney U-tests, p < 0.05).