A step-by-step approach for assessing acute oral toxicity without animal testing for additives of quasi-drugs and cosmetic ingredients

Animal testing of cosmetic ingredients and products has been banned in the European Union since 2013. However, in Japan, the application of new quasi-drugs requires the generation of data on acute oral toxicity through animal testing. A weight of evidence approach for assessing oral toxicity was challenged. This approach used a combination of safety data, including a neutral red uptake cytotoxicity assay using BALB/c3T3 cells (3T3-NRU cytotoxicity assay), which can assess the acute oral toxicity of quasi-drugs or cosmetic ingredients. We conclude that the step-by-step approach can be used to assess test substances that cause low acute oral toxicity, such as the median lethal dose (LD 50) > 2000 mg/kg, thereby avoiding animal testing.

EURL ECVAM Genotoxicity and Carcinogenicity Database of Substances Eliciting Negative Results in the Ames Test: Construction of the Database

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EURL ECVAM Consolidated Genotoxicity and Carcinogenicity Database extended.

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Negative Ames test results were compiled and reviewed.

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A database of Ames negative results was constructed.

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Database chemical space characterization was conducted.

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OFG representation of carcinogens and non-carcinogens was characterised.

The bacterial reverse mutation test (Ames test) is the most commonly used genotoxicity test; it is a primary component of the chemical safety assessment data required by regulatory agencies worldwide. Within the current accepted in vitro genotoxicity test battery, it is considered capable of revealing DNA reactivity, and identifying substances that can produce gene mutations via different mechanisms. The previously published consolidated EURL ECVAM Genotoxicity and Carcinogenicity Database, which includes substances that elicited a positive response in the Ames test, constitutes a collection of data that serves as a reference for a number of regulatory activities in the area of genotoxicity testing. Consequently, we considered it important to expand the database to include substances that fail to elicit a positive response in the Ames test, i.e., Ames negative substances. Here, we describe a curated collection of 211 Ames negative substances, with a summary of complementary data available for other genotoxicity endpoints in vitro and in vivo, plus available carcinogenicity data. A descriptive analysis of the data is presented. This includes a representation of the chemical space formed by the Ames-negative database with respect to other substances (e.g. REACH registered substances, approved drugs, pesticides, etc.) and a description of the organic functional groups found in the database. We also provide some suggestions on further analyses that could be made.