The acetic acid component of lead acetate: its effect on rat weight and activity.

Suckling rats were exposed to one of three solutions, 2.6 x 10(-3) M lead acetate, 5 x 10(-3) M acetic acid or water, from parturition until the pups were 18 days old. Male offspring from dams on acetic acid demonstrated above normal preweaning body weights and were significantly less active than normals in the open field by day 44. The preweaning body weights and ambulation of offspring from dams on lead acetate fell between the results for normal and acetic acid rats. These results indicate that the role of the acetic acid component cannot be discounted when lead acetate is the compound utilized in behavioral studies aimed at examining an effect by lead on laboratory rats.