National Toxicology Program

Selected toxicity information from HSDB, one of the National Library of Medicine's databases. ¹

Names (NTP)

• Gallic acid
• 3,4,5-TRIHYDROXYBENZOIC ACID (9CI)

Human Toxicity Excerpts

• FED TO MEN IN QUANTITIES OF 2 TO 10 G WITHOUT FATALITIES AND WITHOUT EVEN SEVERE ILL EFFECTS. [Gosselin, R.E., H.C. Hodge, R.P. Smith, and M.N. Gleason. Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products. 4th ed. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1976., p. II-127]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• A MILD LOCAL IRRITANT. [The Merck Index. 9th ed. Rahway, New Jersey: Merck & Co., Inc., 1976., p. 560]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• LESS TOXIC THAN TANNIC ACID. [Patty, F. (ed.). Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology: Volume II: Toxicology. 2nd ed. New York: Interscience Publishers, 1963., p. 1839]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• APPARENTLY MUCH LESS TOXIC THAN SALICYLIC ACID. [Gosselin, R.E., H.C. Hodge, R.P. Smith, and M.N. Gleason. Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products. 4th ed. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1976., p. II-127]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• TOXICITY: VERY LOW SYSTEMIC TOXICITY. [The Merck Index. 9th ed. Rahway, New Jersey: Merck & Co., Inc., 1976., p. 560]**PEER REVIEWED**
  

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Non-Human Toxicity Excerpts

• HAS PRODUCED WEAKNESS AND NEUROLOGICAL DISTURBANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL ANIMALS. [Sax, N.I. Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials. 5th ed. New York: Van Nostrand Rheinhold, 1979., p. 700]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• IN ANIMALS IT REDUCES BODY TEMPERATURE AND CAUSES...PERHAPS CONVULSIONS. [Gosselin, R.E., H.C. Hodge, R.P. Smith, and M.N. Gleason. Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products. 4th ed. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1976., p. II-127]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• 0.5% GALLIC ACID INHIBITED GROWTH OF MANY FUNGI, INCL CLADOSPORIUM HERBARUM, TRICHOCLADIUM ASPERUM, & FUSARIUM OXYSPORUM, FROM LEAVES & SOIL. [DIX NJ; TRANS BR MYCOL SOC 73(2) 329 (1979)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  

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Human Toxicity Values

• None found

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Non-Human Toxicity Values

• LD50 Rabbit oral 5.0 g/kg [Budavari, S. (ed.). The Merck Index - An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck and Co., Inc., 1996., p. 737]**PEER REVIEWED**
  

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Absorption, Distribution and Excretion

• READILY ABSORBED FROM THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT. [Gosselin, R.E., H.C. Hodge, R.P. Smith, and M.N. Gleason. Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products. 4th ed. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1976., p. II-127]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• ADMIN TO RABBITS IT IS LARGELY EXCRETED UNCHANGED IN URINE, BUT SMALL AMT ARE ALSO EXCRETED AS PYROGALLOL & 4-METHOXY-3,5-DIHYDROXYBENZOIC ACID. [Parke, D. V. The Biochemistry of Foreign Compounds. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1968., p. 167]**PEER REVIEWED**
  

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Metabolism/Metabolites

• ... GALLIC ACID...METHYLATED BY CATECHOL O-METHYL TRANSFERASE /TO 3,5-DIHYDROXY-4-METHOXY-BENZOIC ACID/. THIS ENZYME IS LOCALIZED IN SOL FRACTION & IS FOUND IN LIVER, KIDNEYS, SKIN, BLOOD CELLS, GLANDULAR TISSUES & NERVE FIBERS. IT REQUIRES S-ADENOSYLMETHIONINE AS METHYL DONOR &...MG++ OR OTHER DIVALENT IONS. [Parke, D. V. The Biochemistry of Foreign Compounds. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1968., p. 85]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• ADMIN TO RABBITS IT IS LARGELY EXCRETED UNCHANGED IN URINE, BUT SMALL AMT ARE ALSO EXCRETED AS PYROGALLOL & 4-METHOXY-3,5-DIHYDROXYBENZOIC ACID. DECARBOXYLATION TO PYROGALLOL IS RESULT OF METAB BY INTESTINAL MICROFLORA. [Parke, D. V. The Biochemistry of Foreign Compounds. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1968., p. 167]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• GALLIC ACID YIELDS GALLIC ACID-BETA-D-GLUCURONIDE IN RABBIT. /FROM TABLE/ [Goodwin, B.L. Handbook of Intermediary Metabolism of Aromatic Compounds. New York: Wiley, 1976., p. G-1]**PEER REVIEWED**
  

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TSCA Test Submissions

• None found

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Footnotes

¹ Source: the National Library of Medicine's Hazardous Substance Database, 10/28/2007.