Abstract |
Propylene dichloride was tested for developmental toxicity in groups of 18 bred female New Zealand White rabbits treated by gavage at dose levels of 0, 15, 50, or 150 mg/kg bw/day on gestation days 7-19, then sacrificed on gestation day 28 for examination of reproductive tracts and fetuses. High-dose does had decreased body weight gain, food consumption, red blood cell counts, hemoglobin concentration, and hematocrit, and increased platelet, white blood cell, and reticulocyte counts. Red blood cells in high-dose rabbits displayed slight to moderate anisocytosis, poikilocytosis, and/or polychromasia, indicative of regenerative anemia. Treatment had no adverse effects with respect to relative organ weights of does, number of litters, corpora lutea, implantations, early and late resorptions, fetal body weight, sex ratio, or incidence of skeletal or soft tissue malformations. High-dose fetuses had an increased incidence of delayed ossification of bones of the skull; the authors suggested that this effect reflected slight fetotoxicity, secondary to the maternal effects at this dose level. The NOEL for maternal and fetal effects was 50 mg/kg bw/day. |