Toxicity Studies on Hydroquinone.

Chronic toxicity experiments with hydroquinone have been carried out in rats, dogs, and men at dose levels greatly exceeding those to be expected if hydroquinone were utilized commercially as a preservative in food fats. It was found that relatively tremendous quantities of the substance had to be ingested before demonstrable physiological pathology occurred in the experimental animals. Acute studies on rats revealed that the LD50 of fasted animals was approximately one-third that of fed controls. The relatively large amount of hydroquinone that could be administered with impunity indicates that the compound could be used safely as a food preservative.