Necrosis of Nasal and Airway Epithelium in Rats Inhaling Vapors of Artificial Butter Flavoring

Details

• Personal Author:
  Battelli LA ; Castranova, Vincent ; Dowdy J ; Fedan, Jeffery S. ; Frazer D ; Friend S ; Goldsmith WT ; Grote, Ardith A. ; Hubbs, Ann F. ; Jones, William G. ; Kullman, Greg J. ; Mercer RR ; Porter DW ; Reynolds JS ; Schwegler-Berry D
• Description:
  As the result of a high prevalence of fixed airways obstruction in workers at a microwave popcorn manufacturing plant, we examined the hypothesis that vapors of butter flavoring used in the manufacture of microwave popcorn and other foods can produce airway injury in rats. Rats were exposed to vapors liberated from heated butter flavoring. Rats were exposed for 6 h by inhalation and were necropsied 1 day after exposure. The exposure was found by GC-MS analysis to be a complex mixture of various organic gases with the major peaks consisting of diacetyl (2,3-butanedione), acetic acid, acetoin (3-hydroxy-2-butanone), butyric acid, acetoin dimers, 2-nonanone, and delta-alkyl lactones. Diacetyl was used as a marker of exposure concentration. In the lung, butter flavoring vapors containing 285-371 ppm diacetyl caused multifocal, necrotizing bronchitis, which was most consistently present in the mainstem bronchus. Alveoli were unaffected. Butter flavoring vapors containing 203-371 ppm diacetyl caused necrosuppurative rhinitis, which affected all four levels of the nose. Within the posterior two nasal levels (T3 and T4), necrosis and inflammation was principally localized to the nasopharyngeal duct. Control rats were unaffected. Therefore, concentrations of butter flavoring vapors that can occur during the manufacture of foods are associated with epithelial injury in the nasal passages and pulmonary airways of rats. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Animals Asthma Asthma, Occupational Food-Processing Industry Food Additives Laboratories Lung Nose Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Sense Organs Solvents

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• Keywords:
  Airway-obstruction Airway Obstruction Animal-studies Author Keywords: Flavoring Bronchial-asthma Bronchitis Butter Diacetyl Food-additives Food-processing-workers Humans Laboratory-animals Nasal-cavity Nasal-disorders Nose Popcorn Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-system-disorders Vapors

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• ISSN:
  0041-008X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division ; DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  128-135
• Volume:
  185
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20022209
• Citation:
  Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 2002 Dec; 185(2):128-135
• Contact Point Address:
  Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health1, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505
• CAS Registry Number:
  Acetic acid (CAS RN 64-19-7) ; Butanedione (CAS RN 431-03-8)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2003
• NORA Priority Area:
  Research Tools and Approaches: Exposure Assessment Methods
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology
• End Date:
  20080930
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2244343330daed47475a0f819bc64fafcc73a0d4af643acab62f2d3fc379bcb0efbc1f01bcc01e18b9259e3df85f69b61795a0165bd765a4f279e24558f81d1a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/199069/cdc_199069_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 449.79 KB ]