Toxicity of Eugenol: Determination of LD50 on Rats.

Abstract

The LD50 for pure eugenol, administered to rats by stomach tube, and without subsequent reaspiration, was estimated to be 1.8 ml (1.93 g/kg). Any use of this datum as a guide to safe dosage in man, however, may take cognizance of the fact that the conditions of the rodent studies are considerably more severe than any which might be encountered in clinical studies. In the first place, the rat experiments employed eugenol per se, whereas work with dog and man is done with aqueous emulsions of the irritant. Furthermore, the rat retains all of the eugenol administered, because of its inability to vomit, whereas dog and man can reject part of the irritant in this manner if the dose is excessive, and this affords an additional factor of safety.