Subchronic dermal toxicity study of triethanolamine in C3H/HeJ mice

Triethanolamine (TEA) was applied to the skin of male and female C3H mice (15 per sex per dose group) three times weekly for 95 days (37 applications). TEA was administered at concentrations of 0 (acetone vehicle), 10, 33 and 100% (undiluted) in a volume of 50 μl. The approximate daily doses of TEA were 0.14, 0.46 or 2.0 g/kg per male and 0.16, 0.54 or 2.3 g/kg per female, respectively. The animals were weighed weekly and observed for clinical signs including skin irritation. 10 mice per sex per dose group were designated for clinical chemistry and haematology at terminal killing. Complete autopsies were performed, and the liver, kidneys, brain, heart, spleen, thymus and testes were weighed. Histopathology was performed on tissues from control and high-dose mice and on target organs. Treatment-related effects were limited to a slight epidermal hyperplasia at the site of application at all TEA concentrations. The results indicate that TEA caused a mild local reaction at all concentrations tested, but did not cause systemic toxicity under these conditions.