Long-term antioxidant exposure effects on female primates.

Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) were incorporated in the diet of adult rhesus female monkeys at a level that ensured a daily intake of 100 mg/kg of body weight (50 mg of BHA and 50 mg of BHT) for two years. Following the initial year of exposure, during which the monkeys experienced no clinical abnormalities attributable to the antioxidants, they were bred to rhesus males that had received unmodified diets. Their gestation was free of complications and normal infants were delivered naturally. Growth rate, hemograms, and behavior of these infants were similar to those of control infants. The infants and adults were evaluated for two years following the antoxidant exposure. During this period, the adult females continued to have normal infants and the infants born during the exposure period remained heatlhy.