Grant, D., Gaunt, I.F., & Carpanini, F.M.B. 1987 Teratogenicity and embryotoxicity study of carmine of cochineal in the rat.. Food and Chemical Toxicity 25(12): 913-917.

Notes: Groups of 30 mated female rats were given daily doses of 0, 200, 500 or 1000 mg carmine/kg body weight by oral intubation throughout pregnancy. (Raw cochineal consists of the air-dried bodies of the gravid female insect Dactylopius coccus, a species indigenous to Central and South America where it is parasitic on the cactus Nopalea cochinillifera.) A group of 17 similar animals was given a solution of chlorides to provide an intake of sodium, potassium and ammonium equal to that resulting from the highest dose level of carmine. There were no effects of carmine treatment on body weights, pregnancy rates, pre-implantation losses, the average numbers of live young, litter weights or fetal weights. The group given the highest dose of carmine and the cation control had increased numbers of implantations and post-implantation losses. The latter was considered to be due to an inability to maintain the increased numbers of implantations rather than to an embryotoxic effect. On the basis of the results obtained it is considered that there were no untoward effects on embryo development in rats given oral doses of up to 1000 mg carmine/kg body weight/day throughout pregnancy.