Melengestrol Acetate (Veterinary Medicinal Products)

Food Safety Commission of Japan (FSCJ) conducted a risk assessment of melengestrol acetate (MGA, CAS No. 2919-66-6), a synthetic hormone, based on results from various studies. MGA was recognized to have no genotoxicity relevant to human health, and it enabled FSCJ to specify an acceptable daily intake (ADI) in the assessment. In vitro studies using various human hormone-receptors showed that MGA exerts biological action primarily as progestogens and secondarily as glucocorticoids. Major adverse effects of MGA observed were mammary gland hyperplasia, endometrial hyperplasia, and a lack of corpora lutea, accompanying the elevated level of serum prolactin. Increased incidence of mammary gland tumor was observed in C3Han/f mice at the dose of 1.5 mg/kg bw/day in a carcinogenicity study. The increase was presumably due to MGA-induced hyperprolactinemia, but not a direct effect of MGA from the experiment, using a prolactin inhibitor. Inhibitions of estrus and ovulation, in addition to dystocia, were observed in female animals in the reproductive and developmental toxicity studies. Malformations such as cleft palate, clubfoot, umbilical hernia, and defective skeletal ossification were observed in rabbits at doses of 0.8 and 1.6 mg/kg bw/day in a developmental toxicity study. However, these were likely due to the corticosteroidal (glucocorticoid) action of MGA. The no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) was obtained from a rhesus monkey study given orally 1.5 µg/kg bw/day of MGA over the one menstrual-cycle. The value was, however, the result of the study using the large common ratio of 10. In another study, the lowest-observed-adverse-effect level (LOAEL) of 5 µg/kg bw/day, obtained from a cynomolgus monkey given MGA over the three menstrual-cycles. The LOAEL value was estimated close to the biological threshold, because of no obvious hormonal disorders despite of minimal change of menstrual cycle. Therefore, FSCJ considered it appropriate to specify an ADI on the basis of the LOAEL obtained from a cynomolgus monkey study over the three menstrual-cycles, and to add an additional safety factor of 2. Consequently, FSCJ specified the ADI of 0.025 µg/kg bw/day by applying a safety factor of 200 to the LOAEL of 5 µg/kg bw/day in a cynomolgus monkey study over the three menstrual-cycles.