The mammalian testis accumulates lower levels of organochlorine chemicals compared with other tissues.

Tissues were obtained from three separate experiments in order to quantify the tissue distribution of organochlorine chemicals that are thought to be potential reproductive toxicants in males: 1) Sprague Dawley rats received 1 microCi of 14C-Aldrin or 14C-Dieldrin (20.6 microCi/micromole) i.p. once a week for three weeks. One week and four weeks after the last injection, tissues were harvested and stored at -80 degrees C. Tissue 14C levels were quantified by scintillation spectrometry. 2) Cis- or trans-nonachlor (0, 0.25, 2.5, 25 mg/kg body weight) were administered daily in corn oil to male rats by gavage for 28 days. Tissues were harvested and frozen at -80 degrees C on the 29th day. Organochlorine residues were extracted and quantified by gas chromatography with electron capture detection. 3) Technical grade toxaphene (0, 0.1, 0.4 or 0.8 mg/kg body weight) was ingested daily by female cynomolgus monkeys of reproductive age for 18 months prior to being mated with control males. Dosing continued during pregnancy and lactation. Their infants received toxaphene via breast milk, and upon weaning, they ingested the same dose as their mothers for 48 to 49 weeks until, at 77 to 80 weeks of age, tissues were harvested and stored at -80 degrees C. Organochlorine residues were extracted and quantified as previously stated. In all three experiments, organochlorine residues in the testis were lower than in most of the other reproductive tract and nonreproductive tract tissues we examined. For example, testicular aldrin and dieldrin levels were <5% the epididymal content; testicular cis- and trans-nonachlor were <25% the epididymal content and, testicular toxaphene levels were <15% of the epididymal content. The reasons for the low degree of accumulation by the testis in comparison with other tissues are unknown. However, the lower testicular content may afford germ cells some protection from the potentially toxic effects of these chemicals.

A teratology study on vomitoxin (4-deoxynivalenol) in rabbits.

Diets containing 4-deoxynivalenol (vomitoxin) of greater than 98% purity were fed to rabbits on days 0-30 of gestation. The dietary concentrations of 4-deoxynivalenol were 0, 0.00075, 0.0015, 0.003, 0.006, 0.012 and 0.024% and the daily intakes of deoxynivalenol were 0, 0.3, 0.6, 1.0, 1.6, 2.0 and 1.8 mg/kg body weight/day, respectively. A pair-fed group was given a feed intake equivalent to that in the 1.6-mg/kg group. The only significant effects that were observed in foetuses examined at day 30 of gestation occurred only at doses that caused reductions in both the body weight and feed intake of does. The foetal effects consisted of a 100% incidence of resorption in the 1.8- and 2.0-mg/kg groups and decreased mean foetal weight in the 1.0- and 1.6-mg/kg and pair-fed groups. The doses that did not appear to be maternotoxic (0.6 and 0.3 mg/kg) did not show any adverse effects in foetuses at term. Vomitoxin given in the diet during pregnancy failed to show any evidence of teratogenic potential in rabbits.

Teratologic assessment of maleic hydrazide and daminozide, and formulations of ethoxyquin, thiabendazole and naled in rats.

Teratogenicity studies were conducted in rats treated orally from days 6-15 of gestation with single daily doses of 400-1600 mg/kg of maleic hydrazide, 300-1000 mg/kg daminozide, 125-500 mg/kg ethoxyquin or thiabendazole, or 25-100 mg/kg naled. Dams were killed on the 22nd day of gestation, and fetuses were evaluated by routine teratologic methods. No adverse effect was related to any treatment other than an increased incidence of anomalous fetuses at the highest dose (500 mg/kg) of thiabendazole.

Teratogenicity study on pyrethrum and rotenone (natural origin) and ronnel in pregnant rats.

Insecticidal formulations in the form of dusts or aerosols containing rotenone from the root of Derris elliptica and pyrethrum from the flower of Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium are commonly used in homes and gardens. Ronnel (fenchlorphos), a systemic insecticide, is used to control house flies and, upon oral treatment, ectoparasites of cattle. These insecticides are extensively used and their teratologic potential has not been fully investigated. Technical grades of rotenone at 0, 2.5, 5, or 10 mg/kg, pyrethrum at 0, 50, 100, or 150 mg/kg (rotenone and pyrethrum were of natural origin) and ronnel at 0, 400, 600 or 800 mg/kg were tested. Each of these was suspended in corn oil and administered orally in single daily doses on d 6-15 of pregnancy to Wistar rats. The dams were killed on the last day of pregnancy, and all fetuses were evaluated following routine teratologic methods. Rotenone was associated with an increased number of nonpregnant rats and resorptions, at a dose of 10 mg/kg; reductions in maternal body weight gain, fetal weight, and skeletal ossification, together with an increased incidence of extra rib, were found at 5 and 10 mg/kg; but no significant effects were found at 2.5 mg/kg. Increases in the incidence of resorptions in pyrethrum-treated groups and of extra rib in ronnel-treated groups were also observed.

Vomitoxin (4-deoxynivalenol): effects on reproduction of mice and rats.

Weanling male and female mice (F0) were fed daily diets containing 4-deoxynivalenol (DON) at concentrations that resulted in a dose of 0 or 2.0 mg/kg body wt in Experiment I and 0, 0.375, 0.75, or 1.5 mg/kg body wt in Experiment II. The test diets were continuously fed to the F0 parents and their progeny for the entire duration of these two experiments, which were similar in design. After 30 days of dietary feeding, the mice were allowed to mate within experimental groups for a maximum of three 5-day trials. Females found to have mated successfully were allowed to litter normally. The F1a progeny from 10 dams of each control and 1.5-mg DON/kg groups were cross-fostered at birth, whereas all of the remaining F1a progeny were reared by their natural dams. The progeny were examined until 21 days of age and discarded. The F0 mice were rebred. The females bred to produce the F1b litters were killed on Day 19 of gestation and their fetuses were examined for gross, visceral, and skeletal malformations. Reductions were observed in feed and water intakes and body weight of F0 male and female mice, the number of live pups and postnatal survivors, postnatal body weight of F1a progeny, number of live fetuses, and mean fetal weight of F1b fetuses. No adverse effects on fertility of F0 male and female mice and no major malformations in F1b were found. Cross-fostering offspring between control dams and 1.5-mg DON/kg-treated dams revealed that both postnatal survival and body weight were adversely affected by prenatal exposure as well as by a combined pre- and postnatal exposure. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing DON so as to deliver daily doses of 0.25, 0.5, or 1.0 mg/kg body wt. After 6 weeks of feeding, the rats were bred within groups and the males were then discarded. The mated females, maintained on their respective diets for the entire period of pregnancy, were killed on the last day of pregnancy and fetuses evaluated for effects on prenatal development. Except for dilation of renal pelvis and urinary bladder, the significance of which remains undetermined, no other adverse effect was observed.