Pulmonary Toxicity Induced by N-Hexane in Wistar Male Rats After Oral Subchronic Exposure.

Studies of pulmonary toxicity induced by oral exposure to n-hexane are very few, in contrast to those studying the exposure by inhalation. This research tackles the oral toxic effect of n-hexane solvent on the lungs after subchronic exposure of Wistar male rats at 300, 600, and 1200 mg/kg, respectively, each day for 8 weeks. The pneumotoxicity observed in this study was marked by an immune toxicity in the form of a significant increase in the levels of white blood cells, lymphocytes, granulocytes, and eosinophils, as well as a significant increase in relative and absolute lung weight in both groups treated at the doses of 600 and 1200 mg/kg.