Repeated Treatment with Furazolidone Induces Multiple Cytochrome P450-Related Activities in Chicken Liver, but Not in Rat Liver

Abstract

The nitrofuran antimicrobial agent, furazolidone (FZ), is still used in veterinary medicine in some countries in the Middle and Far Eastern countries. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of successive bolus doses of FZ and its metabolite 3-amino-2-oxazolidinone (AOZ) on cytochrome P450 (CYP)-related activities in the livers of rats and chickens. Female Wistar rats and white Leghorn chickens were orally administered FZ once a day for 4 consecutive days. FZ-treated chickens showed an increase in multiple CYP-related activities, however, rats treated with FZ did not show these changes. In chickens, treatment with FZ also induced production of microsomal CYP2C6-like apoprotein. The present study demonstrated that FZ caused a multiple-type induction of CYP-related activities in chickens, but not in rats.