Potential Harm of IQOS Smoke to Rat Liver.

The Food and Drug Administration has recently classified the IQOS electronic cigarette as a modified-risk tobacco product. However, IQOS cigarettes still release various harmful constituents typical of conventional cigarettes (CCs), although the concentrations are markedly lower. Here, we investigated the damaging effects of IQOS smoking on the liver. Male Sprague Dawley rats were exposed, whole body, 5 days/week for 4 weeks to IQOS smoke (4 sticks/day), and hepatic xenobiotic metabolism, redox homeostasis and lipidomic profile were investigated. IQOS boosted reactive radicals and generated oxidative stress. Exposure decreased cellular reserves of total glutathione (GSH) but not GSH-dependent antioxidant enzymes. Catalase and xanthine oxidase were greater in the exposed group, as were various hepatic CYP-dependent monooxygenases (CYP2B1/2, CYP1A1, CYP2A1, CYP2E1-linked). Respiratory chain activity was unaltered, while the number of liver mitochondria was increased. IQOS exposure had an impact on the hepatic lipid profile. With regard to the expression of some MAP kinases commonly activated by CC smoking, IQOS increased the p-p38/p38 ratio, while erythroid nuclear transcription factor 2 (Nrf2) was negatively affected. Our data suggest that IQOS significantly impairs liver function, supporting the precautionary stance taken by the WHO toward the use of these devices, especially by young people and pregnant women.

Unburned Tobacco Cigarette Smoke Alters Rat Ultrastructural Lung Airways and DNA.

INTRODUCTION: Recently, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the marketing of IQOS Tobacco Heating System as a Modified Risk Tobacco Product based on an electronic heat-not-burn technology that purports to reduce the risk. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed in a whole-body mode to IQOS aerosol for 4 weeks. We performed the chemical characterization of IQOS mainstream and we studied the ultrastructural changes in trachea and lung parenchyma of rats exposed to IQOS stick mainstream and tissue pro-inflammatory markers. We investigated the reactive oxygen species amount along with the markers of tissue and DNA oxidative damage. Moreover, we tested the putative genotoxicity of IQOS mainstream through Ames and alkaline Comet mutagenicity assays. RESULTS: Here, we identified irritating and carcinogenic compounds including aldehydes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the IQOS mainstream as sign of incomplete combustion and degradation of tobacco, that lead to severe remodelling of smaller and largest rat airways. We demonstrated that IQOS mainstream induces lung enzymes that activate carcinogens, increases tissue reactive radical concentration; promotes oxidative DNA breaks and gene level DNA damage; and stimulates mitogen activated protein kinase pathway which is involved in the conventional tobacco smoke-induced cancer progression. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, our findings reveal that IQOS causes grave lung damage and promotes factors that increase cancer risk. IMPLICATIONS: IQOS has been proposed as a safer alternative to conventional cigarettes, due to depressed concentration of various harmful constituents typical of traditional tobacco smoke. However, its lower health risks to consumers have yet to be determined. Our findings confirm that IQOS mainstream contains pyrolysis and thermogenic degradation by-products, the same harmful constituents of traditional cigarette smoke, and, for the first time, we show that it causes grave lung damage and promotes factors that increase cancer risk in the animal model.

Effects of Phenols from Olive Vegetation Water on Mutagenicity and Genotoxicity of Stored-Cooked Beef Patties.

This explorative study aimed to assess the mutagenicity and genotoxicity of stored-cooked beef patties formulated with and without phenols (7.00 mg of phenols/80-g patty) extracted from olive vegetation water (OVW), as related to the formation of cholesterol oxidation products (COPs) and heterocyclic amines (HCAs). The patties were packaged in a modified atmosphere, sampled during cold storage (4 °C) for 9 days, and grilled at 200 °C. The genotoxicity was evaluated by the Comet assay. The patty extract was found to be genotoxic on primary peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), while no mutagenicity was detected. The addition of OVW phenols significantly decreased the genotoxicity of the patty extract and reduced the total COPs content in stored-cooked patties (4.59 times lower than control); however, it did not affect the content of total HCAs (31.51-36.31 ng/patty) and the revertants' number. Therefore, these results demonstrate that the OVW phenols were able to counteract the formation of genotoxic compounds in stored-cooked beef patties.

Assessment of a Diterpene-Rich Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) Extract as a Natural Antioxidant for Salmon Pâté Formulated with Linseed.

The use of natural plant extracts with standardised antioxidant properties is a growing strategy to stabilise food products. The use of a rosemary lipophilic extract (RLE), obtained from the by-product of high-yield selected plants and rich in polyphenols (334 mg/g, with diterpenes such as carnosic acid and carnosol as main compounds), is here proposed. Four RLE doses (0, 0.21, 0.42 and 0.63 g/kg) were tested in a salmon pâté formulated with sunflower oil and linseed, which was pasteurised (70 °C for 30 min) and subjected to storage at 4 °C and 600 lux for 42 days. Rosemary diterpenes resisted pasteurisation without degrading and showed antioxidant activities during the shelf-life of pasteurised pâté. RLE addition led to increased peroxide value (from 3.9 to 5.4 meq O2/kg), but inhibited formation of secondary oxidised lipids such as malondialdehyde (from 1.55 to 0.89 mg/g) and cholesterol oxidation products (from 286 to 102 µg/100 g) and avoided discolouration (slight brownness) in the refrigerated pâté. However, this did not entail relevant changes in fatty acid content or in the abundance of volatile organic compounds from oxidised lipids. Increasing the RLE dose only improved its antioxidant efficacy for some oxidation indexes. Thus, the oxidative deterioration of these types of fish emulsion can be naturally controlled with rosemary extracts rich in diterpenes.

Effects of In Vitro Digestion on the Antioxidant Activity of Three Phenolic Extracts from Olive Mill Wastewaters.

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of in vitro digestion on the antioxidant activity of three extracts rich in phenols (two purified organic extracts (A20, A21) and one powdered extract stabilized with maltodextrins (SP)) obtained from olive mill wastewaters (OMWW). The content and composition of phenols and antioxidant activity was determined before and after in vitro digestion. The phenol content of the A20 and A21 samples were higher (>75%) than that of the SP sample before in vitro digestion. After the entire in vitro digestion, 89.3, 76.9, and 50% loss of phenols was found in A20, A21 and SP, respectively. ABTS•+ and ORAC values decreased during in vitro digestion of A20 and A21 samples, while they remained almost constant in SP. IC50 increased during digestion of A20 and A21, evidencing a loss of antioxidant capacity after the intestinal phase; an opposite IC50 trend was noted in SP, confirming the protective role of maltodextrins. For these reasons, SP represents a promising formulation to be used in the food field.

Improved Oxidative Stability and Sensory Quality of Beef Hamburgers Enriched with a Phenolic Extract from Olive Vegetation Water.

This study aims at evaluating the effect of a phenol-rich extract obtained from the concentration and purification of olive mill wastewaters (added at a ratio of 87.5 and 175 mg of phenols/kg meat) on the stability and sensory quality of beef hamburgers packed under modified atmosphere and stored under alternating exposure to fluorescent light at 4 ± 2 °C for 9 days. The hamburgers were sampled at different times (0, 6, and 9 days) and grilled at 200 °C. After 9 days, more than 56% of the added phenols in the raw burgers and more than 20% the grilled ones were retained. The results show that both concentrations of phenolic extract proved to effectively reduce primary and secondary lipid oxidation, as well as cholesterol oxidation products (COPs), during the shelf-life of raw hamburgers. Peroxide value, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, and total COPs were up to 1.4-, 4.5-, and 8.8-fold lower in phenol-enriched raw hamburgers, respectively, than in the control samples; a similar trend was noted also in phenol-enriched cooked hamburgers (1.3-, 5.7-, and 4-fold lower). The sensory analysis also confirmed the effectiveness of the addition of phenolic extract, resulting in a positive effect on the red color intensity (raw product) and thus reducing browning during storage.

Quality Changes during Frozen Storage of Mechanical-Separated Flesh Obtained from an Underutilized Crustacean.

Despite their high nutritional value, high quantities of fish caught in the Adriatic Sea are underused or discarded for their insignificant economic value. Mechanical separation of flesh represents an opportunity for developing innovative semi-finished products, even if it can promote an increased quality degradation rate. The aim of this study was to evaluate physico-chemical modifications of mechanically separated mantis shrimp flesh during deep-freezing storage. Flesh samples obtained using a belt-drum separator, frozen and vacuum-packed, were stored at 3 temperatures (industrial: -26 °C; domestic: -18 °C and abuse: -10 °C) for 12 months. During storage, qualitative (color, water content, pH, fatty acids (FA) and lipid oxidation) were evaluated. Fish freshness parameters (e.g., trimethylamine (TMA), dimethylamine (DMA) and amino acids) were assessed using nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR). The mechanical separation process accelerated the initial oxidation phenomena, promoting color alterations, compared to manual separation. The main degradation phenomena during storage were significantly affected by temperature and were related to changes in luminosity, oxidation of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), increased lipolysis with release of free FA, production of TMA and DMA by residual enzymatic activity, and changes in amino acids due to proteolysis. The inter-disciplinary approach permitted important findings to be made, in terms of the extent of different degradative phenomena, bound to processing and storage conditions of mechanically separated mantis flesh.