title: Uterotrophic and Hershberger assays for endocrine disruption properties of plastic food contact materials polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
abstract: Plasticizers or plastic materials such as phthalates, bisphenol-A (BPA), and styrene are widely used in the plastic industry and are suspected endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC). Although plastic materials such as polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are not EDC and are considered to be safe, their potential properties as EDC have not been fully investigated. In this study, plastic samples eluted from plastic food containers (PP or PET) were investigated in Sprague-Dawley rats using Hershberger and uterotrophic assays. In the Hershberger assay, 6-wk-old castrated male rats were orally treated for 10 consecutive days with plastic effluent at 3 different doses (5 ml/kg) or vehicle control (corn oil, 1 ml/100 g) to determine the presence of both anti-androgenic and androgenic effects. Testosterone (0.4 mg/ml/kg) was subcutaneously administered for androgenic evaluation as a positive control, whereas testosterone (0.4 mg/ml/kg) and flutamide (3 mg/kg/day) were administered to a positive control group for anti-androgenic evaluation. The presence of any anti-androgenic or androgenic activities of plastic effluent was not detected. Sex accessory tissues such as ventral prostate or seminal vesicle showed no significant differences in weight between treated and control groups. For the uterotrophic assay, immature female rats were treated with plastic effluent at three different doses (5 ml/kg), with vehicle control (corn oil, 1 ml/100 g), or with ethinyl estradiol (3 μg/kg/d) for 3 d. There were no significant differences between test and control groups in vagina or uterine weight. Data suggest that effluents from plastic food containers do not appear to produce significant adverse effects according to Hershberger and uterotrophic assays.
authors.affiliation: Division of Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Gyeonggi-Do, Suwon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Bu Young
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Minji
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kyung
authors.forename: Seong Kwang
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Seul Min
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Duck Soo
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Seung Jun
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kwack
authors.forename: Hyung Sik
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Byung-Mu
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001681:Biological Assay; D004058:Diffusion; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination; D018857:Food Packaging; D005836:Genitalia, Female / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D005837:Genitalia, Male / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D057230:Limit of Detection; D008297:Male; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis; D009919:Orchiectomy; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D010968:Plasticizers / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D011093:Polyethylene Terephthalates / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D011126:Polypropylenes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D010968:Plasticizers; D011093:Polyethylene Terephthalates; D011126:Polypropylenes