Lack of Lung Damage in Mice Following Administration of Tertiary Butylhydroquinone

ABSTRACT

Tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), a phenolic antioxidant used in foods, was tested for its potential to produce lung damage in mice similar to that seen following administration of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). Male mice (CRL:CD-1) were given single intraperitoneal injections of 62.5, 125, 250 or 500 mg/kg TBHQ or 300, 625 or 1230 mg/kg BHT in corn oil. Survivors were killed five days after treatment and the lungs were removed, weighed, and processed for histologic examination. Lung weights of the TBHQ treated animals were comparable to the controls, while BHT produced a statistically significant increase in lung weight. Histologically, BHT produced hyperplasia of pulmonary pneumocytes as previously reported. No treatment-related lung lesions were seen in the TBHQ mice. The results of this study indicate that TBHQ does not produce pulmonary lesions in mice.