Abstract
Acetarsone (acetyl-amino-hydroxy-phenyl arsonic acid) was synthesized in 1921 by Tréufouel and Fourneau 1 after having been prepared earlier by Ehrlich. 2 Levaditi 3 noted the drug was toxic for rabbits in doses of 0.66 gm. per kilo on oral administration, and that it was tolerated in doses of 0.3 to 0.4 gm. per kilo. Since then the drug has been recommended for syphilis, amebiasis, and other protozoan infestations. Conflicting reports have appeared on its therapeutic efficiency and toxicity. Pool, 4 Worms, 5 and Kolle 6 found this compound more toxic than Levaditi originally reported, causing death in rabbits when 0.2 to 0.3 gm. per kilo were given by mouth.
Levaditi and Poole worked on material synthesized by Fourneau. We attempted to find the minimal lethal dose on oral administration to cats and rabbits of the commercially available product, and have also studied the toxicity of its calcium and sodium salts. 7
The material was powdered and administered in gelatin capsules washed down with water. It was necessary to anesthetize the cats for this procedure. All animals were kept in individual cages, under identical conditions of diet and hygiene, and were observed for at least 30 days following the administration unless death intervened. Those animals dying within the observation period were subjected to post-mortem examination and sections of the principal organs were taken for histological study. Untreated animals were maintained in the laboratory under similar conditions as controls.
Table I shows the results of this study on 35 cats and 56 rabbits. The determination of the minimal lethal dose on oral administration is difficult because of the uncertainty of absorption. The range of toxicity of these compounds indicated by our figures seems reliable except in the case of calcium acetarsone in rabbits.
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