Rodent LD50 Tests

Rodent LD50 values have been used for almost a century as a measure of potential human toxicity from drugs and other chemicals. However, they have been found not, on the whole, to be good models for human toxicity. One reason for this could be the often-high variability of LD50 values. It has recently been shown that by using median LD50 values, very good correlations have been found with human lethal dosages. Bearing in mind the millions of rodent lives sacrificed, many with no good reason, it is proposed that some reparation could be made by more investigations using median values of already available rodent LD50 values.