LD50 DETERMINATION OF ZINC PHOSPHIDE TOXICITY FOR HOUSE MICE AND ALBINO LABORATORY MICE

Results showed that wild house mice were more susceptible to zinc phosphide than an albino strain. The LD50 and 95% confidence limits for combined sexes with wild house mice (Mus musculus) were 32.68 + 3.58 mg/kg, but 53.34 ± 2.64 for the albino mice. The regression equations between the probits of mortalities and the logs of doses are Y= 10.38x-10.72 for wild mice and Y=6.78x-6.71 for albino mice. Both the individual and sexual variations among albino mice in their susceptibility to zinc phosphide were greater than those of wild mice. The results suggest that attempts to extrapolate toxicity values from albino mice to wild mice may prove misleading