title: Toxicity Studies of Ethyl Maltol and Iron Complexes in Mice.
abstract: Ethyl maltol and iron complexes are products of ethyl maltol and the iron found in the cooking pots used to prepare the Chinese dish, hot-pot. Because their safety is undocumented, the toxicity study of ethyl maltol and iron complexes was conducted in male and female Kunming (KM) mice. The animal study was designed based on the preliminary study conducted to determine the median lethal dose (LD50). The doses used in the study were 0, 1/81, 1/27, 1/9, and 1/3 of the LD50(mg kg body weight (BW)-1day-1) dissolved in the water. The oral LD50of the ethyl maltol and iron complexes was determined to be 743.88 mg kg BW-1in mice. The ethyl maltol and iron complexes targeted the endocrine organs including the liver and kidneys following the 90 D oral exposure. Based on the haematological data, the lowest-observed-adverse-effect level (LOAEL) of the ethyl maltol and iron complexes was determined to be 1/81 LD50(9.18 mg kg BW-1day-1) in both male and female mice. Therefore, we suggest that alternative strategies for preparing the hot-pot, including the use of non-Fe-based cookware, need to be developed and encouraged to avoid the formation of the potentially toxic complexes.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Shanxi 030801, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Shanxi 030801, China.
authors.forename: Jieli
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Shanxi 030801, China.
authors.forename: Chonghui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Shanxi 030801, China.
authors.forename: Quanhai
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4436-4765
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Shanxi 030801, China.
authors.forename: Zhiwei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Shanxi 030801, China.
authors.forename: Ruipeng
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nan
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Shanxi 030801, China.
authors.forename: Ruochen
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Institute of Farm Product Storage and Fresh-Keeping, Shanxi Academy of Agriculture Science, Taiyuan 030031, China.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003296:Cooking; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007408:Intestinal Absorption / Q000187:drug effects; D007501:Iron / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*; D058085:Iron Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*; D007928:Lethal Dose 50; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D011753:Pyrones / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D058085:Iron Compounds; D011753:Pyrones; D007501:Iron; C052408:ethyl maltol