Screening for anti-androgenic activities of acrylonitrile in viro

  Objective   To investigate the anti-androgenic effect of acrylonitrile(AN)by the Hershberger assay in rats.

  Methods   Acrylonitrile was administered orally at doses of 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 mg/(kgºbw)to castrated rats for 10 days. 0.4 mg/(kgºbw)testosterone propionate(TP)was also administered by subcutaneous injection after the administration of AN. In some rats, flutamide (FLU)was also administered orally at a dose of 25 mg/(kgºbw)as the reference chemical for(anti-)androgenicity. All rats were killed 24 h after the administration of the last dose. The sex accessory tissue weights, including the weights of prostate, seminal vesicle, penis, LA/BC muscle and Cowper's gland, and the weights of kidney and liver of rats were recorded.

  Results   There were essentially no differences in sex accessory tissue weights between the negative control and any of the AN-treated groups(P > 0.05). The positive control flutamide25 mg/(kgºbw)showed a significant effect in this assay protocol(P < 0.05). There was no excessive systemic toxicity in this assay(P > 0.05).

  Conclusion   AN mayn't have anti-androgenic properties on in vivo screening tests.