Negative dose-response study for carcinogenicity of orally administered rutin sulfate in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Rutin is a ubiquitous naturally occurring flavonoid, which is used in a number of drugs. It was tested for carcinogenicity in Sprague--Dawley rats as a water-soluble mixture of sodium salts of sulfuric acid esters. Over 2 years, doses ranging from 10 to 500 mg/kg body wt of rutin sulfate (expanding factor 2.66) were administered by gavage 3 times a week to 4 groups of rats comprising 12 males and 12 females each. A control group was treated with tap water. Age-adjusted analysis of tumor rates did not provide any evidence for rutin sulfate to be carcinogenic under the conditions of this bioassay.