Forty 11-week-old female dark agouti (DA) rats supplied by Japan SLC, Inc. were used in the study.
Preliminary feeding was performed from the time of arrival to the start of study and the animals were
placed under quarantine for 1 week. Animals were housed in an environmentally controlled animal room
with a temperature of 22 F 3 jC, 50 F 20% humidity, with a ventilation of 13–17 air changes/hour
and a 12 hr light/dark cycle with illumination at 08:00–20:00 hours. The DA rats were given pelleted
food AIN-93M (basic food) and tap water ad libitum. Animals observed to be healthy during preliminary
feeding were selected and used for the study. The use of animals in this investigation conformed to the
Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals published by the National Institutes of Health (1996).