Effects of chronic administration of D-003, a mixture of sugar cane wax high molecular acids, in beagle dogs.
D-003 is a mixture of high molecular weight aliphatic primary acids purified from sugar cane wax (Saccharum officinarum, L) with cholesterol-lowering and antiplatelet effects. Previous studies, including a 6-month study conducted in rats, have shown no D-003-related toxicity. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of D-003 orally administered for 9 months in beagle dogs. The animals were randomly distributed in three groups: a control group receiving the vehicle only and two groups orally administered D-003 (200 and 400 mg/kg). Body weight gain, food consumption and clinical signs were controlled throughout the study. The effects of D-003 on collagen-induced platelet aggregation, bleeding time (BT) and coagulation parameters (prothrombin time and kaolin-activated thromboplastin time) were also investigated. Most blood biochemistry and hematological parameters were assessed at baseline and after 6 and 9 months of treatment, while total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides, platelet aggregation, BT and coagulation parameters were determined at baseline and after 9 months of treatment. At study completion, the animals were sacrificed. D-003 at a dose of 200 and 400 mg/kg significantly reduced TC (p < 0.05), significantly inhibited platelet aggregation and increased BT compared with levels in controls. Data analyses of body weight gain, food consumption, clinical observations, the remaining blood biochemistry and hematology indicators (including coagulation parameters, organ weight ratios and histopathological findings) showed no trends with D-003 doses or significant differences between control animals and treated groups. In conclusion, D-003 administered for 9 months to beagle dogs induced the expected effects with no evidence of drug-related toxicity.