Juvenile toxicity of atropine sulfate eye drops in young rats.

Abstract

Objectives: This study was to investigate the effects of atropine sulphate eye drops (ASED)on the development of partial systems in young rats and their toxic reactions following repeated eye-drop administration over a period of 40 days.

Methods: SD rats of 20 days old were randomly assigned to control group, 0.01, 0.02, and 0.04% ASED groups, with 60 females and 25 males per group. ASED was given by eye drops from PND₂₁ onwards and normal saline was given in the control group at 10 μL/eye once a day for 40 days, in both right and left eyes. Rats of ASED groups were instilled with eye drops at the 10 μL/day per eye, from postnatal day 21 (PND₂₁) to PND₆₀ for 40 consecutive days. The clinical observation, body weight, food intake, physical development, physiological development, reproductive development, ophthalmic examination, intraocular pressure, and axial length of the rats were examined during the study period.

Results: ASED at concentrations of 0.01, 0.02, 0.04%, dose levels of 0.002, 0.004, 0.008 mg/day per rat, had no toxicological effects on the clinical observation, body weight, food intake, physical development, physiological development, reproductive development, ophthalmic examination, intraocular pressure, and axial length in rats.

Conclusion: The no-observed-adverse-effect-level (NOAEL) of ASED in young SD rats equivalent to human over 2 years old was 0.008 mg/day at a concentration of 0.4 mg/mL.