Short-Term Toxicity Studies

For chemicals in general the identification of a potential hazard normally arises from the application of in vitro tests or from short-term toxicity studies undertaken in laboratory animals (up to a period of 90 days in the case of the rat where the test material normally should not exceed 1% of the total diet). This usually enables a critical effect to be assessed. 

Paustenbach, D.J., Carlson, G.P., Christian, J.E., Bom, G.S. and Rausch, J.E. (1983). A dynamic closed-loop recirculating inhalation chamber for conducting pharmacokinetic and short-term toxicity studies. Fund. Appl. Toxicol. 3 528-532. 

NTP. 1995. Printed long term technical reports and short term toxicity study reports. National Toxicology Program. Management status report. Division ofToxicology research and Testing. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. July 7, 1995. 

DeGroot AP, Feron V, Til H. 1973. Short-term toxicity studies on some salts and oxides in rats. 

Gaunt IF, Colley J, Grasso P, et al. 1968. Acute and short-term toxicity studies on di-N-butyltin dichloride in rats. Food Cosmet Toxicol 6 599-608. 

Usually, as in other toxicity studies, 2 species should be used, but when the biological activity is well understood or when in short term toxicity studies the effects were similar in both species, then longer term studies could be run only with one species. 

For assessing acute dietary risk, an acute aRfD/ADI is determined from short-term toxicity studies. As with the chronic cRfD/ADI, the aRfD/ADI is established using the lowest NOEL from a range of short-term toxicity studies. 

However in short term toxicity studies with Octa-BDEs, rats administered dietary levels of 100 mg/kg had increased liver weights and showed microscopal changes of liver tissue. These liver changes were more severe at the even higher dose levels, i.e. 1000 and 10,000 mg/kg diet. Octa-BDEs gave also minor eye irritation to rabbits [3]. In addition, Penta-BDEs increased liver/body weight ratio with 64 %, Octa-BDEs with 45 %, and BDE-209 with 25 % in a study where a dose of 0.1 mM/kg/day was administered to male rats during 14 days [75]. 

Short-term toxicity studies simulate the exposure of workers or farmers to the products they use on a regular basis. They are performed with rats and dogs and last 1 to 6 months. Chronic and carcinogenicity studies last up to 2 years and simulate the long-term exposure of consumers to small concentrations of pesticides in food. Rats, mice, and dogs are used as animal models. The final result is the... 

Rowland IR, Butterworth KR, Gaunt IF, et al. Short-term toxicity study of carnauba wax in rats. Food Chem Toxicol 1982 20(4) 467 71. 

Domingo JL, Llobet JM, Tomas JM, et al. 1985. Short-term toxicity studies of vanadium in rats. J AppI Toxicol 5 418-421. 

Van Logten MJ, Wolthuis M, Rauws AG and Kroes R (1973) Short-term toxicity study on sodium bromide in rats. Toxicology 1 321-327. 

Isbrucker, R.A., J.A. Edwards, E. Wolz, A. Davidovich, and J. Bausch. 2006b. Safety studies on epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) preparations. Part 2 Dermal, acute and short-term toxicity studies. Food Chem. Toxicol. 44(5) 636-650. 

Thorup, I., G. Wurtzen, J. Carstensen, and P. Olsen. 1983. Short term toxicity study in rats dosed with peppermint oU. Toxicol. Lett. 19(3) 211-215. 

A review of Pelargonium sidoides indicated that a full set of toxicity studies had been completed, including acute short-term toxicity studies in rats, 2-week dose finding and 13-week toxicity studies in dogs, the Ames test for mutagenicity, the chromosomal aberration test, the mouse micronucleus test, tumor promotion studies, immuno-toxicity studies, and reproductive toxicology studies. The review reported that all studies yielded unremarkable results. Information on products and doses used were not reported in the review (Conrad et al. 2007). 

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