Abstract
The chronic toxicity of bis (2-chloro-1-methylethyl) ether (dichlorodiisopropyl ether: DCIP), a nematicide, was studied in specific pathogen-free (SPF) mice of the ICR strain. DCIP (purity: 98.5%) was fed to each groups of 56 male and 56 female mice for a period of 104 weeks at dietary dose levels of 0, 80, 400, 2, 000 or 10, 000ppm. Seven animals of each group at 13, 26 and 52 weeks, 6 animals at 78 weeks and all surviving mice at the end of the experiment were sacrificed to carry out hematological, biochemical and pathological examinations.
In both sexes of the 10, 000ppm group, a remarkable depression of body weight gain was noted corresponding with the decrease in food consumption. Mild anemia and hemosiderin deposition and increased extramedullary hematopoiesis of the spleen were observed at 13, 26 and 52 weeks. Only female mice in the 2, 000ppm group showed a slight inhibition of body weight increase and an anemic tendency. No conspicuous changes attributable to the feeding of DCIP were observed less than in the 2, 000ppm group males and the 400ppm group females. There was also no significant increase in the incidence of age-related lesions and tumors in any treated groups as compared with those in the control group.
Based on these results, it was concluded that the maximum no-effect levels of DCIP were 2, 000ppm for male mice (198mg/kg/day) and 400ppm for female mice (35.8mg/kg/day).
