Chronic toxicity and carcinogenic evaluation of permethrin in rats and mice.

Groups of Alpk:AP (Wistar-derived) rats were fed diets containing 0, 500, 1000 or 2500 ppm permethrin for 2 years and Swiss-derived mice were maintained for their lifetime (80% mortality) on diets containing 0, 250, 1000, or 2500 ppm permethrin. Changes of toxicological significance were confined to the top dose level of 2500 ppm permethrin in both species. Tremors and hypersensitivity to noise were noted in rats at this dose during the first 2 weeks of study but such signs were not seen in mice. Pathological examination of the central and peripheral nervous systems did not reveal abnormalities attributable to permethrin administration. The effect on mice at 2500 ppm permethrin was shown by decreased body weight gain. Liver hypertrophy, associated with increase in liver weight, microsomal enzyme activity, and proliferation of smooth endoplasmic reticulum occurred in the rat with similar but less marked changes in the mouse. This was considered to be an adaptive response of no toxicological significance. No evidence of a carcinogenic effect was seen in the rat study. In the mouse study a slight elevation in benign lung tumor incidence in males only at 2500 ppm permethrin was observed but was not considered to represent a carcinogenic effect.