Abstract
Commercial preparations of p olychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Kanechlors 300 and 500, were mixed with food and given to pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats throughout gestation at levels of 20,100 and 500 ppm. Treatment with 500 ppm of Kanechlor 500 resulted in decreased maternal weight gain and suppressed food consumption. At 20 and 500 ppm of Kanechlor 300 and 500 ppm of Kanechlor 500, the fetal weight decreased significantly. Resorptions and major malformations were not increased by the Kanechlor treatment. These results indicate that PCBs at a high dose level are embryotoxic in the rat, although their teratogenic potential is not evidenced.
