Toxicity Profile for Di-(2-ethylhexyl) adipate (1991)

Abstract

Di-(2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA) was of low acute toxicity in laboratory animals by the oral and dermal routes, although high oral doses affected the central nervous system of guinea-pigs. In short-term rodent feeding studies, DEHA had effects on the liver, including proliferation of certain subcellular structures (peroxisomes), and an increased liver tumour incidence was seen in mice (but not rats) fed DEHA throughout their life. Genotoxicity screening assays in a variety of mammalian and other systems (including Ames bacterial tests) have, in general, failed to demonstrate any marked genotoxic potential. However, dominant lethal mutations were apparently induced when male mice were given an intraperitoneal injection of DEHA and subsequently mated with untreated females. Oral administration to pregnant rats did not induce foetal malformations although there was evidence of foetotoxicity. Rats treated orally prior to mating showed no impairment of fertility. In rabbits, DEHA was, at most, a mild skin and eye irritant, and limited studies in man suggested only a low potential for skin irritancy and sensitization.