An evaluation of the toxicity of moxalactam in laboratory animals

The toxicity of moxalactam in laboratory animals was evaluated with six species. The acute toxicity of moxalactam was lower than that of cefazolin. The subchronic and chronic toxicity of moxalactam was studied for periods of one to six months at dosages of 100-3,500 mg/kg per day in rats, 100-1,600 mg/kg per day in dogs, and 100-500 mg/kg per day in monkeys. Treatment-related effects were limited to soft stool, cecal dilatation, and slight anemia resulting from local injury at the injection site in the higher dosage groups. All the effects were reversible and less severe than those caused by cefazolin. Studies of reproduction in rats, mice, and rabbits indicated that moxalactam had no teratogenicity and no adverse effects on fertility of parental animals and on gestation or growth and reproductive capacity of offspring. Comparative studies of nephrotoxiticity in rabbits demonstrated that moxalactam was considerably less nephrotoxic than cefazolin, cefotiam, and cefotaxime.