Short-term toxicity of isoamyl salicylate in rats

Abstract

Isoamyl salicylate was given to groups of 15 male and 15 female rats at dietary concentrations of 0 (control), 50, 500 or 5000 ppm for 13 wk. There was a decrease in weight gain at the highest dietary level accompanied by a reduced food intake, but a paired-feeding study showed that this was due to the diet's unpalatability. The females given the highest dietary level drank more water than the controls and produced slightly greater volumes of more dilute urine. The relative kidney weight was increased in rats on the 500 and 5000 ppm levels without any histopathological changes. It is concluded that isoamyl salicylate was exerting a mildly nephrotoxic effect. The relative liver weight was increased at the highest level of feeding but there were no other effects attributable to treatment. The no-untoward-effect level from this study was 50 ppm of the diet, providing a mean intake of approximately 4·7 mg/kg/day.