US EPA

1316860 

Technical Report 

Structure-Activity Relationships of Formaldehyde 

Feinman, SE 

1988 

Feinman, SE 

NIOSH/00227153 

S 

197-204 

The major biological effects of formaldehyde (50000) with the effects of unsaturated, aromatic, and long chain aldehyde compounds were compared. Allergic contact dermatitis could be induced by many of the aldehyde series, which resemble formaldehyde in their ability to sensitize and elicit allergic reactions. Moderate skin irritation and moderate to severe eye irritation could be caused by nearly all of the other aldehydes. Irritant effects were generally noted to decrease with increasing length of the saturated aldehyde chain. Most of the aldehydes cause acute pathological effects in animals and humans which could result in respiratory damage, pulmonary edema, and death. Both acetaldehyde (75070) and formaldehyde have been associated with an increased incidence of carcinomas in rat nasal mucosa and laryngeal carcinomas in the hamster. A large number of aldehydes other than formaldehyde have also been shown to be genotoxic in microbial, insect, and mammalian studies. Treatment of mammalian cell cultures with various aldehydes have resulted in sister chromatid exchanges, chromosomal aberrations, and DNA cross links. While formaldehyde was not shown to be conclusively teratogenic, acetaldehyde was demonstrated to produce fetal resorptions and malformations in exposed rats and fetal alcohol syndrome among humans. The author concludes with the need to conduct more definitive epidemiological studies on the health impacts of other aldehydes as well as studies on the mutagenicity and carcinogenicity of such chemicals. 

DCN-227268; Laboratory animals; Epidemiology; In vitro studies; Toxic effects; Biological effects; Mutagenesis; Carcinogenesis; Comparative toxicology; Chemical properties