[Acute toxicity of intrarectally administered (ketoprofen (T10) in rat weanlings]

Acute toxicity of Ketoprofen, a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory analgestic, was studied using rat weanlings. Ketoprofen was intrarectally administered in the form of a mixture with T10, a basic materials for suppositaries. The results obtained were as follows: LD50 of KP was estimated to be 434 mg/kg in male weanlings and 496 mg/kg in female weanlings. These values were about four times higher than those obtained from our previous study (Shimpo et al., 1981) using six-weeks old adult rats of both sexes. The fact indicated that rat weanlings were far tolerant to KP intrarectally administered than young adult rats. Intrarectal administration of KP at high doses, caused death between the second and the seventh day after administration. Gross and histopathological examinations revealed that dead weanlings carried perforative peritonitis with ulcers mainly in jejunum and ileum not in rectum. It was therefore suggested that the ulcer was produced in small intestine by entero-hepatic circulation of KP and finally mortal peritonitis occurred.