Toxicity Profile for Isophorone (1991)

Abstract

Isophorone was a severe eye irritant in rabbits, and irritated the skin of rabbits and guinea-pigs. Its vapour caused irritation of the eyes and respiratory tract of humans and rodents. The acute oral toxicity of isophorone was moderate to low in rats, mice and guinea-pigs, with treatment causing kidney changes and central nervous system (CNS) effects in rats. Acute dermal toxicity was moderate to low in rats and rabbits. Laboratory animals exposed to isophorone vapour showed effects on the CNS and blood, and tissues changes in the lungs, liver, kidneys, stomach and spleen. An equivocal result was obtained in one limited inhalation study investigating isophorone's ability to induce foetal malformations in pregnant rats and mice. In comprehensive lifetime oral studies, male rats developed kidney damage and kidney tumours (and possibly preputial gland tumours), while male mice had an increased incidence of subcutaneous and liver tumours. Isophorone induced chromosome effects in hamster cells in culture and gave contradictory results in tests for mutations in mouse cells in culture. A range of other in vivo and in vitro genotoxicity assays (including tests for overt chromosome damage) gave negative results. Isophorone was consistently non-mutagenic in Ames bacterial assays.