The subacute inhalation toxicity of
alpha-ethylacrolein was examined in rats by repeated exposure of 4 groups of 10 males and 10 females each to
alpha-ethylacrolein vapour at concentrations of 0, 2.0, 9.8 or 48.4 ppm, respectively, (6 h/day, 5 days/week) for a period of 13 weeks. The effects at 48.4 ppm were found to include growth retardation, focal
alopecia, increased activity of glutamic-oxalacetic
transaminase, glutamic-pyruvic transaminase and
alkaline phosphatase in the blood serum, decreased concentrations of total
protein and
albumin in the blood serum, increased relative weight of the heart, liver, adrenals and lungs, and histopathological changes in the respiratory tract mainly consisting of hyper- and
metaplasia of respiratory epithelium and
atrophy of the nasal olfactory epithelium. While at the 9.8 ppm level only a few relatively minor effects were noticed, viz. decreased concentrations of total
protein and
albumin in the blood serum and minimal hyper- and
metaplasia of the tracheobronchial epithelium, no changes attributable to
alpha-ethylacrolein were observed at the 2.0 ppm level.