摘要：Acute oral toxicities of such colors as gardenia blue, paprikas, cochineal extracts, sheanut and gardenia yellow were studied in male Wistar rats. The animals were treated orally with 5.0, 7.5 or 11.25ml/kg for gardenia blue, cochineal extracts and sheanut and 5.0, 7.5 or 11.25g/kg for paprikas and gardenia yellow. As none of the animals treated with these natural colors died throughout the 7-day experimental period, the LD50 values of these natural colors were estimated to be more than 11.25ml/kg (or g/kg). Body weight gain was suppressed by the administration of one of the paprikas or gardenia yellow, but not by the other natural colors. In autopsy at 7 days after the treatment, no remarkable changes were observed except the dark red lesions mostly located on caudate lobe of liver, caused by gardenia yellow.
