Abstract
Aldicarb, 2-methyl -2-(methylthio)- propionaldehyde O- methylcarbamoyloxime, is currently manufactured in the US by RhonePoulenc Company and sold under the trade name Temik. In the present study, aldicarb was evaluated for potential developmental toxicity. Groups of 30 bred females Fischer 344 rats were given 0, 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 mg/kg per day by gavage on gestation days 6-15; the fetuses were evaluated on gestational day 21. Clinical signs of toxicity attributed to aldicarb were noted in dams receiving 0.3 and 0.5 mg/kg per day. Maternal and fetal brain acetylcholinesterase activities were reduced in treated groups of 0.3 and 0.5 mg/kg per day. Maternal effects in the treated group of 0.5 mg/kg per day included depressed body weight. Fetal weight and viability were decreased, and fetal death, early, and late resorption were increased at the 0.5 mg/kg per day maternal dose. Skeletal abnormalities were also increased in this group. Aldicarb showed fetotoxic effects at a maternal dose of 0.5 mg/kg per day, a dose that also produced maternal toxicity.
