Recommendations for Future Improvements in the Study

Despite that the study is guided by the OECD-GLP guidelines, several shortcomings are notable in terms of the basic principles of Good Laboratory Practices. Therefore, it hereby recommended that future studies should put the following items into practice to realize consistency and reliability in the results.

• Development of a proper Quality Assurance Programme: This entails all the activities carried out to ensure that confidence and reliability are established in the results obtained and the reports generated. These activities include use of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) in all aspects of the study, development of statistical methods for data analysis, calibration of materials and equipments before use, certification of reagents and study materials, certification of personnel, and sample tracking (OECD 1998c; Society of Toxicologic Pathologists, 1997, p. 655).
• Incorporation of the reference test item or negative control into the study: The reference item refers to a material, which exhibits the same potency as the test item. In addition, the properties and the toxicological test results of the reference test substance are known. Therefore, making comparisons between the results generated from the two materials enables analysts to come up with consistent and reliable results for the unknown test item