THE CHRONIC TOXICITY OF ERGOT

¹ From the Division of Pharmacology, Food and Drug Administration, Federal Security Agency, Waehington, D. C.

1. Rats fed powdered crude ergot in an adequate, or low protein diet at concentrations of 1, 2 and 5% showed toxic effects.

2. Ergot retarded the growth rate of rats. This effect was more pronounced in male animals during the early growing period. With an adequate diet the 1 and 2% of ergot did not retard the growth of the female animals. On a low protein diet the growth rates, except for those of the female rats on the 1% ergot, were significantly different from the controls.

3. Histologically typical neurofibromas were produced on the ears of a high percentage of rats fed 5% of ergot. The tumor occurred less frequently on the level of 2% of ergot, rarely on a level of 1%, and did not occur in the controls. A low protein diet somewhat favored the production of ear tumors. Tumors other than neurofibroma of the ear occur spontaneously in our older rats, and the incidence of these was about doubled in those rats fed ergot.

4. Two other lesions, necrosis and calcification of the lower ends of the renal pyramids, and corpus luteum hyperplasia of the ovaries, were frequently caused by feeding of the ergot.

5. No cutaneous gangrene and no vascular lesions attributable to ergot were observed.

6. In a fractionation study whole ergot was less toxic than defatted ergot. Ergot oil caused little, or no, toxicity.

7. There is an indication that the alkaloid ergotoxine may be slightly toxic in the amount found in 5% of ergot. It slightly retarded the growth rate of rats during the early period.

8. The exact constituent of the crude ergot responsible for the tumor production is not known. The fact cannot be ignored that one rat on the ergotoxine did develop a typical neurofibroma of the ear.