Developmental Toxicology Assessment of 1-Octanol, 1-Nonanol, and 1-Decanol Administered by Inhalation to Rats

Abstract

As part of a large study evaluating the developmental toxicology of industrial alcohols administered by inhalation, groups of approximately 15 pregnant female Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed for 7 h/day on gestation days 1-19 (sperm = 0) to one of three long-chain alcohols at the maximum concentrations that could be generated as a vapor. These concentrations were 400 mg/m3 1-octanol, 150 mg/m3 1-nonanol, and 100 mg/m3 1-decanol. Dams were weighed daily for the first week of exposure, and weekly thereafter. On gestation day 20, rats were sacrificed. Fetuses were serially removed, blotted dry, examined for external malformations, sexed, weighed, placed in appropriate fixatives, and subsequently examined for visceral or skeletal abnormalities. No treatment-related effects were observed in pregnant females, frequency of resorptions, fetal weights, or skeletal/visceral malformations. Thus, long-chain alcohols at these vapor concentrations appear not to be toxic as evidenced by these fetal and maternal parameters.