Abstract
Diet admixtures containing Japanese persimmon colour at concentrations of 0 (powdered basal diet), 1.25, 2.5 and 5.0% were provided ad libitum to groups of 6-week-old Sprague-Dawley SPF rats (Crj : CD (SD) ; each group consisted of 10 males and 10 females) for 90 days and its repeated-dose toxicity was evaluated. The mean test article intake during the administration period in the 1.25, 2.5 and 5.0% groups was 784.1, 1570.4 and 3152.0 mg/kg/day in males and 893.5, 1849.4 and 3734.5 mg/kg/day in females, respectively. Test article is a food additive for coloration, and excretion of colored feces was observed. But no deaths occurred during the administration period and there were no toxic changes due to the test article in clinical observations, body weight, food consumption, feed efficiency, ophthalmology, urinalysis, hematology, blood chemistry and pathological examinations. Therefore, the NOAEL in the present study by dietary administration for both sexes was assumed to be the highest concentration of 5.0% (3152.0 mg/kg/day for males and 3734.5 mg/kg/day for females).
