The subacute and chronic toxicity of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), a cationic surfactant, in the rat.

Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), a cationic surfactant, was given to male and female Sprague-Dawley rats in drinking water in dosages of approximately 10, 20, and 45 mg/kg/day for 1 year. The surfactant was well tolerated at the two lowest dose levels. At the highest dose level a reduction in body weight was observed. In males the body weight remained reduced throughout the study, but in females the body weight was reduced only during the first 2 months of the study. It was found that food conversion was less efficient in male rats during the first 7 weeks of the study. No compound-related gross pathologic changes were seen on autopsy and no microscopic alterations were found in the wall of stomach and small intestine of treated animals.