Rats fed GM stacked-trait corn developed leaky stomachs
By Surya Zeeb
Published: August 4, 2018
Category: Negative GMO Impacts, The Organic & Non-GMO Report Newsletter
Rats fed a triple-stacked trait genetically modified corn engineered for insect resistance and herbicide tolerance developed leaky stomachs, according to a new peer-reviewed paper by Australian researchers.
In the study conducted by Irena M. Zdziarski of the University of Adelaide, Judy A. Carman of the Institute of Health and Environmental Research (IHER), and John W. Edwards of Flinders University, the rats were split into two groups of 10 males each.
One group was fed the GM stacked-trait corn, containing Monsanto Bt insecticidal toxin traits MON863 and MON810, and glyphosate-tolerant trait NK603, for six months. That’s twice as long as the typical rat feeding study performed by industry for regulatory authorizations. The GM corn was grown in the U.S.
The other group of rats was fed for the same amount of time the control diet, which contained a commercially-grown non-GM maize grown in Australia. The control corn was not sourced from the U.S. due to the difficulty of finding a non-GM corn variety from that country that would be uncontaminated with GM genes.
At the end of the experiment, the rats were killed and samples of their stomachs were examined under the microscope. The rats fed the GM corn diet had worrisome changes in the lining of their stomachs.
Any two cells that line the stomach are normally held tightly against each other to form a “tight junction.” This stops bacteria, viruses, or food particles from leaking out from the stomach into the tissues of the body. The researchers found that the rats fed the GM corn had gaps in their tight junctions. This is called “poor apposition.” On average, this was five times greater in rats fed the GM corn diet.
Source: GM Watch
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