Short-term effects of butylated hydroxytoluene on the Wistar rat liver, urinary bladder and thyroid gland.

Long-term feeding of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) to rats and mice has been linked to the enhancement of the incidence of liver tumors. It is shown in this paper that in the liver, urinary bladder and thyroid of the male Wistar rat, feeding the highest tolerated doses of BHT for 30 days does not lead to detectable increases in [3H]thymidine labeling. On the other hand, treatment of rats with 0.5% dietary BHT leads to a time-limited increase in liver cell [3H]thymidine labeling that subsided to control values within 8 days. This increase in [3H]thymidine labeling in the liver is accompanied by an unexpectedly large increase in the mitotic index. These results are discussed in the light of the behavior of certain rodent liver tumorigens.