Weanling Charles River CD rats of both sexes were fed 300 mg/kg/day of
Piroctone Olamine, an
anti-bacterial agent, and were supplemented with 0, 50, 100 or 200 ppm
dietary iron as FeSO4.7H2O for six weeks. However, analytical data indicated that Piroctone was degraded in the diet so that the rats received only 225 mg/kg/day. The rats given
Piroctone Olamine without
iron gained significantly less
body weight and ate significantly less feed than controls, with the effect being more pronounced in the males. They also developed severe microcytic,
hypochromic anemia. The rats supplemented with all three levels of
dietary iron grew at a rate similar to controls. The rats supplemented with 50 ppm
dietary iron had
anemia with all of the hematological
iron-associated factors being significantly depressed. The 100 ppm supplement restored all hematologic factors to normal in the females, but slight reductions remained in the males. The 200 ppm supplement of
iron restored all parameters to values similar to the controls in both sexes. These results suggest that the mechanism of the toxicity of
Piroctone Olamine is the prevention of
dietary iron absorption by in situ chelation.