Effect of dietary fats and fatty acids on the liver lipid accumulation induced by feeding a protein-repletion diet containing glycerol to protein-depleted rats

6 Final Report on the Safety Assessment of Safflower Oil

Safflower Oil is a polyunsaturated edible seed oil consisting primarily of triglycerides of linoleic acid. The oil is used in cosmetics as an emollient in topical lotions and creams at concentrations normally between 0.1 and 5 percent. The pure oil produced slight to moderate comedogenicity. However, products containing up to 5 percent Safflower Oil were not comedogenic in rabbits. Results of animal tests indicated that Safflower Oil was not an eye or skin irritant or contact sensitizer. The oil increased the incidence of 12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene in rats.

Safflower Oil has been used to treat human essential fatty acid deficiencies via oral and topical administration and is often applied to irritated and abraded skin. Products containing up to 5 percent Safflower Oil were negative for human skin irritation, sensitization, or photosensitization.

From the information presented in this report, it is concluded that Safflower Oil is safe as a cosmetic ingredient in the present practices of use.

Glycerol is not a physiologic signal in the control of food intake in rats

Rats were given two daily subcutaneous injections of either 40, 80 or 160 mg/kg of glycerol or control injections of glucose. Glycerol injections did not reliably affect body weight gain at any dose tested whether animals were maintained in constant light or a 12 hr light/dark cycle. Only injections of 160 mg/kg of glycerol given twice daily significantly reduced daily food intake; however, this dose also raised plasma glycerol concentrations briefly to an unphysiologic level. Continuous intravenous infusions of 390 or 780 mg/rat/day of glycerol had no effect on food intake, even though plasma glycerol levels increased markedly within the normal range. These findings indicate that reductions of food intake and body weight after administration of glycerol are probably responses to a treatment which is not physiologic.