Abstract

TOXICITY STUDY OF BUTYLATED HYDROXYL TOLUENE (BHT) IN RATS

*Varuna P. Panicker, Sisilamma George, Dhanush Krishna B

ABSTRACT

Butylated hydroxyl toluene (BHT) is also termed as 2,6-di-tert-butylp- cresol or 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methyl phenol. BHT does not occur in nature and is prepared synthetically from p-cresol and isobutylene. BHT is one of the most widely used synthetic phenolic anti-oxidant in foods, mainly in foods containing fats and oils, food containers, packaging materials and in cosmetics[1,2]. Fats, oils, and fat- containing foods are naturally susceptible to rancidity and other oxidation reactions. Lipid oxidation is autocatalytic reaction which proceeding as a complex chain of reactions involving free radicals. Here BHT act as a free radical scavenger, prevents rancidification by terminating this chain reaction. BHT has a molecular weight of 220.34 with the chemical formula C15H24O and it is a white odourless crystalline solid, insoluble in water, but freely soluble in ethanol and fatty oils[3].

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