Limited in vivo bioassays on some benzodiazepines: lack of experimental initiating or promoting effect of the benzodiazepine tranquillizers diazepam, clorazepate, oxazepam and lorazepam.
Four benzodiazepine tranquillizers were tested for their ability to initiate or promote the development of preneoplastic and neoplastic rat liver lesions. In comparison with the liver carcinogen, N-2-fluorenylacetamide, the benzodiazepines exhibited no initiating activity during a 14-week period of daily administration by gavage. To study the promoting activity, N-2-fluorenylacetamide was used to initiate altered foci and neoplastic nodules in rat liver during 8 weeks and then the benzodiazepines were administered by daily gavage for a period of 12 weeks. The liver tumor promoter phenobarbital had a substantial enhancing effect upon the persistence of nodules but none of the benzodiazepines showed a similar effect. Thus, in the process model systems used, to detect initiating or promoting potential effect, the benzodiazepine tranquillizers failed to exhibit either an initiating or a promoting action.
D015073:2-Acetylaminofluorene / Q000633:toxicity; D000818:Animals; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000633:toxicity*; D001681:Biological Assay; D002273:Carcinogens; D003009:Clorazepate Dipotassium / Q000633:toxicity; D003975:Diazepam / Q000633:toxicity; D008140:Lorazepam / Q000633:toxicity; D008297:Male; D010076:Oxazepam / Q000633:toxicity; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D013997:Time Factors
D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D002273:Carcinogens; D003009:Clorazepate Dipotassium; D010076:Oxazepam; D015073:2-Acetylaminofluorene; D008140:Lorazepam; D003975:Diazepam