Zinc sulphate (1989)
Abstract
Zinc sulphate can irritate and damage the respiratory tract of humans and laboratory animals. There is one report of skin sensitization in man. The acute oral toxicity to rodents was moderate. Repeated oral administration to man has caused gastro-intestinal complaints, effects on the immune system and profound anaemia. In rodents, repeated oral dosing produced pancreatic damage and effects on the blood, liver, kidneys, thyroid, forestomach, intestine and spleen. Similar findings were reported in sheep. No reproductive effects were evident in mice, hamsters or rabbits treated orally during pregnancy, but a high incidence of foetal deaths occurred in rats and sheep, and fertility was reduced in rats. A very limited study reported no evidence of carcinogenicity in rats given zinc sulphate in the diet. There was some evidence of genotoxic activity in mammalian cells in culture, but this was not confirmed in studies using rats and mice treated orally or by injection. No mutagenicity was seen in Ames bacterial assays although weak mutagenic activity was reported in yeast cells.
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