Acute toxicity prediction of synthetic and natural preservatives in rat by using QSAR modeling software

Preservatives are chemicals that prevent spoiling the foods from bacteria and fungi. These chemicals are of artificial or natural origin. The present study aims acute toxicity prediction as LD50 (median lethal dose) values of synthetic/artificial and natural preservatives in rat by oral exposure. The predictions of LD50 values were determined by using T.E.S.T. (Toxicity Estimation Software Tool) for these common preservatives used in raw and/or processed foods. Among the selected 16 synthetic and natural preservatives, predictive LD50 values by T.E.S.T. were obtained only in 8 artificial compounds while for natural preservatives, out of 16 compounds 15 nos. were obtained. The predicted LD50 values for synthetic compounds viz. benzoic acid, ethyl para-hydroxybenzoate, lactic acid, propionic acid, sorbic acid, butylated hydroxytoluene, butylated hydroxyanisole and formaldehyde were observed but potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, calcium benzoate, sodium propionate, disodium EDTA, sodium gallate, nitrite and sulphite unable to predict the LD50 values due to unidentified CAS no. in database while for natural compounds viz. caffeic acid, cinnamic acid, ferulic acid, gallic acid, oleuropein, thymol, eugenol, ascorbic acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, fumaric acid, tocopherol acetate, carvacrol, citral and allin were obtained. It was observed from the prediction by the T.E.S.T. that synthetic preservatives are moderately toxic except formaldehyde and propionic acid, these 2 are very toxic while natural preservatives are only moderately toxic and lactic acid is slightly toxic. This software helps to predict of LD50 values by easy screening. It is also suggested to compare the predicted data with other available related softwares and natural preservatives may suitable compared to artificial preservatives.