Hm. Solomon et al., 1-METHYL-2-PYRROLIDONE (NMP) - REPRODUCTIVE AND DEVELOPMENTAL TOXICITY STUDY BY INHALATION IN THE RAT, Drug and chemical toxicology, 18(4), 1995, pp. 271-293
A two-generation reproduction study with a developmental toxicity comp
onent was conducted. For the reproduction phase, male and female rats
inhaled 0, 10, 51, or 116 ppm NMP daily for 6 hr/day, 7 days/week from
34 days of age to the end of the mating period for the males (100 exp
osure days) and till weaning for the females (about 143 exposure days,
but interrupted from Day 20 of gestation to Day 4 Postpartum). On Day
70 postpartum, one male and one female selected from each litter late
r mated with newly obtained, nonexposed adults of the opposite sex to
produce an F2 generation. For the developmental phase, rats of both se
xes inhaled 0 or 116 ppm NMP as outlined above, but euthanization of t
he females occurred on Day 21 of gestation followed by fetal examinati
on for structural alterations. The indices of reproductive performance
for the NMP-exposed rats did not differ significantly from those obta
ined for the control rats. Rats exposed to 116 ppm had a detectable de
crease in response to sound. No other signs of NMP-related toxicity we
re detected among the parental rats. An exposure-related but slight de
crease in fetal weight was detected only among the F1 offspring whose
parents both inhaled NMP at 116 ppm. This slight effect also appeared
at birth among the pups of the reproductive phase where it persisted t
ill 21 days after birth when NMP inhalation by the mother ceased. Ther
eafter, the body weight of the offspring was comparable to the control
values. No detectable or developmental effects appeared in the 10 or
51 ppm groups.