Studies on single-dose toxicity of hydrophobically modified hydroxypropyl methylcellulose in rats.

Single-dose toxicological studies of hydrophobically modified hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HM-HPMC, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose modified with stearylglycidylether) were conducted. A dispersion of HM-HPMC was administered to rats orally or by dermal application at doses up to 900 mg/kg. After the oral administration, the mean body weight of the 900 mg/kg group on the first day after administration was slightly but significantly lower (P less than 0.05) than that of the control group, and one rat had loose stools at 30 min. after the administration. No other abnormalities were noted. In the case of dermal application, no abnormalities were observed. No rats died, and no abnormalities in their organs were found by either route. In conclusion, there was no observed toxicity of HM-HMPC after oral or dermal administration at single dose up to 900 mg/kg under the conditions of these studies.