Study objective: We evaluated the effectiveness of activated charcoal (AC) in adsorbing Clostridium botulinum type A toxin using a mouse bioassay.
Design: Prospective, blinded, randomized, controlled animal study.
Setting: Animal care facility.
Participants: One hundred forty Swiss/Webster ND-4 strain mice.
Intervention: Food contaminated with type A botulinum toxin was homogenized in a phosphate/gel buffer (pH 6.2). The concentrate was diluted by factors of 1:10, 1:50, and 1:100. AC was added to aliquots of the dilutions to a 20% final concentration. The samples were centrifuged, supernatant was removed, and separate groups of mice were injected intraperitoneally with .5 mL of each dilution (those treated with AC and controls untreated with AC). The animals were then observed over 5 days for signs of botulism.
Results: None of the 60 animals injected intraperitoneally with dilutions treated with AC was observed to have any signs of botulism. In contrast, deaths were observed in 10 of 20, 9 of 20 and 4 of 20 mice injected with untreated dilutions of 1:100, 1:50, and 1:10, respectively (P < .004).
Conclusion: In this model, treatment of botulinum toxin with AC before administration resulted in greatly reduced morbidity and mortality.