[Subchronic toxicity study of liquid paraffin in F344 rats].

A 13-week oral toxicity study of liquid paraffin was carried out in F344 rats at the dose levels of 5, 2.5, 1, 0.5, 0.2 and 0% in the powdered diet to select a suitable dose range for a 2-year carcinogenicity study. Each group consisted of 10 males and 10 females. No animals showed decrease in body weights and food intakes in any group, and all animals were surviving at the end of the experiment. Changes indicating obvious toxicity of liquid paraffin were not observed in the hematological-, serum biochemical- and histopathological-examinations. Based on these data, a concentration of 5% or more in the diet was considered as the maximum tolerable dose of liquid paraffin for both sexes in F344 rats.