NITROFURAN COMPOUNDS AS A FOOD ADDITIVE

Publisher Summary Nitrofuran compounds have been widely used as antibacterial drugs. Their use as a food additive, however, has been restricted to only a few countries, including Japan. This chapter discusses how a nitrofuran compound was used as food additive and why it was subsequently banned. It presents an extensive, acute, subacute, and chronic toxicity study of furylfuramide in rats and mice. In a study described in the chapter, the hypertrophy of liver cells of a reactive nature was the main change in the rats fed furylfuramide, and its reversibility was also confirmed. In addition, 0.3% furylfuramide feeding was also carried out, but it was not possible to keep the rat alive for more than one year. Complete autopsy and extensive histological examination of the rats that died in these experiments revealed no irreversible changes in any organ. However, there have been some biological fluctuations in the weight of the liver and testis. From these experiments in rats and mice, it was estimated that the 0.0125% diet is the concentration to cause no lesion in these animals.