Subchronic inhalation neurotoxicity studies of ethyl acetate in rats

Rats were exposed to 0, 350, 750 or 1500 ppm of ethyl acetate by inhalation for 6 h per day, 5 days per week for 13 weeks. Functional observational battery (FOB) and motor activity tests occurred on non-exposure days during weeks 4, 8 and 13, after which tissues were microscopically examined for neuropathology. A subset of rats was monitored during a 4-week recovery period. Exposure to 750 and 1500 ppm, diminished behavioral responses to unexpected auditory stimuli during the exposure session and appeared to be an acute sedative effect. There were no signs of acute intoxication 30 min after exposure sessions ended. Rats exposed to 750 and 1500 ppm had reduced body weight, body weight gain, feed consumption, and feed efficiency, which fully or partially recovered within 4 weeks. Reductions in body weight gain and feed efficiency were observed in male rats exposed to 350 ppm. The principal behavioral effect of subchronic exposure was reduced motor activity in the 1500 ppm females, an effect that was not present after the 4-week recovery period. All other FOB and motor activity parameters were unaffected, and no pathology was observed in nervous system tissues. Operant sessions were conducted in another set of male rats preconditioned to a stable operant baseline under a multiple fixed ratio-fixed interval (FR-FI) schedule of food reinforcement. FR response rate, FR post-reinforcement pause duration, and the pattern of FI responding were not affected during or after the exposure series. In contrast, within-group FI rate for the treatment groups increased over time whereas those of the controls decreased. A historical control group, however, also showed a similar pattern of increase, indicating that these changes did not clearly represent a treatment-related effect. Results from these studies indicate a LOEL of 350 ppm for systemic toxicity based on the decreased body weight gain in male rats, and a LOEL of 1500 ppm for neurotoxicity based on the transient reduction in motor activity in female rats. In conclusion, there was no evidence that subchronic exposure up to 1500 ppm ethyl acetate produced any enduring neurotoxic effects in rats.