Toxicity of 5- chloro- 3- methyl- catechol to rat: Chemical observations and light microscopy of the tissue

5-chloro-3-methyl-catechol was first time described by GAUNT and EVANS (1961) as a metabolite of MCPA (4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic aci~which is the most widely used herbicide in the Nordic countries. The toxicity of the metabolite 5-chloro-3-methylcatechol bas hot been studied so far. Other catechols like 3,5dichlorocatechol has been shown to be a metabollte of 2,4-D (BOLLAG et ai. 1968a, BOLLAG et ai. 1968b), and it has been proven to be toxic to cells by HORVATH (1971). The catechols are metabolized by bacteria finally to muconic semialdehyde (HORVATH 1970, HORVATH and ALEXANDER 1970). In this work the toxicity of 5-chloro-3-methyl-catechol to maie rats was studied in acute and subchro…