SHORT-TERM TOXICITY STUDY ON INDIGO CARMINE IN PIG

Indigo Carmine was fed to pigs at levels of 0 (control), 150, 450 or 1350 mg/kg/day for 90 days. There was no effect on growth, urine and serum analyses or organ weights. A slightly reduced haemoglobin level and red-cell count was found after both 45 and 90 days in the blood of two of the three males given 1350 mg/kg. Histological examination revealed liver abscesses in one male fed Indigo Carmine at a level of 150 mg/kg/day, but this could not be attributed to the treatment given. A no-effect level of 450 mg/kg/day was therefore established. The maximum likely human intake of Indigo Carmine in the UK has been calculated as 0 · 17 mg/kg/day. © 1969 Pergamon Press Limited.