Still Searching for Better Butter Flavoring
2012; National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Volume: 120; Issue: 12 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1289/ehp.120-a457
ISSN1552-9924
Autores Tópico(s)Polyamine Metabolism and Applications
ResumoVol. 120, No. 12 News | ForumOpen AccessStill Searching for Better Butter Flavoring Carol Potera Carol Potera Published:1 December 2012https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.120-a457Cited by:7View Article in:中文版AboutSectionsPDF ToolsDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InReddit After diacetyl (2,3-butanedione) was shown to cause bronchiolitis obliterans in workers who inhaled high levels of this volatile butter flavoring at microwave popcorn processing plants,1,2,3 some manufacturers switched to a substitute assumed to be safer. Recent rodent studies, however, suggest that the substitute, 2,3-pentanedione, may be as damaging to the respiratory tract as the diacetyl it replaced.4,5Bronchiolitis obliterans, or "popcorn lung," is a rare, irreversible, debilitating lung disease in which inflammation and scarring obstruct the smallest airways, the bronchioles. There is no good treatment for the disease short of a lung transplant.6 Ironically, lung transplant itself can trigger bronchiolitis obliterans through organ rejection mechanisms, limiting the survival of many transplant patients.7After the disease was identified in popcorn workers, researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reported bronchial epithelial damage in rats inhaling vapors of butter flavoring.8 This type of injury causes fibrosis (thickening and scarring) of the bronchioles, which is the underlying cause of bronchiolitis obliterans. In 2008 some of the same NIOSH researchers narrowed their studies to diacetyl, a major component of butter flavoring vapors, and reported similar acute damage in rats.9 The same year, Daniel Morgan, head of the Respiratory Toxicology Group at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and colleagues reported that mice develop bronchial epithelial damage after inhaling diacetyl vapors at concentrations equivalent to worker exposures.6 Rats proved even more susceptible than mice and developed full-blown bronchiolitis obliterans after repeated exposure to diacetyl.4,10Because diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione, both diketones, are chemically very similar, Morgan suspected that inhaled 2,3-pentanedione may be toxic to the respiratory tract as well. He exposed rats to up to 200 ppm of 2,3-pentanedione for either 10 or 12 days, using the same doses and exposure times as the earlier diacetyl rat experiments. Like diacetyl, 2,3-pentanedione caused fibrosis of the small airways.4,7Morgan's team also reported an increase in growth factors and cytokines in the lungs, including C-reactive protein and fibroblast growth factor 9.4 In recent unpublished studies, they observed that the gene for transforming growth factor β was highly upregulated in fibrotic airways of rats exposed to 2,3-pentanedione. This potent fibrogenic agent initiates the fibrosis pathway, causing thickening of bronchial walls and airway obstruction.11Morgan's findings provide strong evidence that inhaled diketone vapors can produce airway fibrotic disease and support a causal relationship between workplace exposure to high concentrations of diketones and the development of bronchiolitis obliterans, according to John Morris, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. "Effective control strategies must be implemented to limit worker exposure to diketone vapors," Morris says.Engineering controls such as ventilated mixing vessels with hinged lids or access ports are the first line of protection against worker exposures to diketones in flavorings. Workers should also wear appropriate personal protective equipment.NIOSH2,3-Pentanedione and diacetyl are designated as "generally recognized as safe" by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other qualified experts for use in foods or food packaging. However, this designation means only that they are safe to eat and does not imply safety for other routes of exposure, such as inhalation.1Morgan's data may help regulatory agencies set exposure limits to protect workers. Both NIOSH and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration currently recommend occupational flavoring control measures including isolating flavor production and handling, installing engineering controls (e.g., engineering hoods and local exhaust ventilation systems), and wearing appropriate respiratory protection.1,12Additionally, the chemically induced rodent bronchiolitis obliterans model could be used to evaluate drugs that prevent progression of the disease. Transforming growth factor β offers a good drug target to block the start of the fibrosis process. "Hopefully our work will have clinical applications," Morgan says.Other studies indicate that 2,3-pentanedione may affect bodily systems beyond the respiratory tract. A team led by Ann Hubbs, a veterinary pathologist at NIOSH, observed not only damage to the lining of the airways but also necrosis and apoptosis in the olfactory neuroepithelium and markers of neurotoxicity in the olfactory bulb, striatum, hippocampus, and cerebellum.5 The functional importance of these changes in brain tissue will be addressed in future studies.The immediate message, Hubbs says, is that "if a chemical substitution is intended to control health effects, the substitute should be demonstrably safer than the compound it replaces."REFERENCES1 OSHA. Occupational Exposure to Flavoring Substances: Health Effect and Hazard Control. Safety and Health Information Bulletin 10-14-2010. Washington, DC:Occupational Safety & Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor (2010). Available: http://www.osha.gov/dts/shib/shib10142010.html [accessed 1 Nov 2012]. Google Scholar2 CDCFixed obstructive lung disease in workers at a microwave popcorn factory—Missouri, 2000–2002.Morbid Mortal Wkly Rep 51(16):345-3472002. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5116a2.htm. Medline, Google Scholar3 Kreiss Ket al.Clinical bronchiolitis obliterans in workers at a microwave-popcorn plant.N Engl J Med 347(5):330-3382002.); http://dx.doi.org/.10.1056/NEJMoa02030012151470. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar4 Morgan DLet al.Bronchial and bronchiolar fibrosis in rats exposed to 2,3-pentanedione vapors: implications for bronchiolitis obliterans in humans.Toxicol Pathol 40(3):448-4652012.); http://dx.doi.org/.10.1177/019262331143194622215510. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar5 Hubbs AFet al.Respiratory and olfactory cytotoxicity of inhaled 2,3-pentanedione in Sprague-Dawley rats.Am J Pathol 181(3):829-8442012.); http://dx.doi.org/.10.1016/j.ajpath.2012.05.02122894831. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar6 Morgan DLet al.Respiratory toxicity of diacetyl in C57Bl/6 mice.Toxicol Sci 103(1):169-1802008.); http://dx.doi.org/.10.1093/toxsci/kfn01618227102. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar7 Kelly FLet al.Epithelial Clara cell injury occurs in bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome after human lung transplantation.Am J Transplant 12(11):3076-30842012.); http://dx.doi.org/.10.1111/j.1600-6143.2012.04201.x22883104. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar8 Hubbs AFet al.Necrosis of nasal and airway epithelium in rats inhaling vapors of artificial butter flavoring.Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 185(2):128-1352002.); http://dx.doi.org/.10.1006/taap.2002.952512490137. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar9 Hubbs AFet al.Respiratory toxicologic pathology of inhaled diacetyl in Sprague-Dawley rats.Toxicol Pathol 36(2):330-344; http://dx.doi.org/.10.1177/019262330731269418474946. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar10 Morgan DL, et al. Bronchial Fibrosis in Rats Exposed to 2,3-Butanedione and 2,3-Pentanedione Vapors [oral presentation]. Presented at: 51st Annual Society of Toxicology Meeting and ToxExpo, San Francisco, CA, 11–15 Mar 2012. Available: http://www.toxicology.org/AI/Pub/Tox/2012Tox.pdf [accessed 1 Nov 2012]. Google Scholar11 Border WA, Noble NATGF-β in kidney fibrosis: a target for gene therapy.Kidney Int 51(5):1388-13961997.); http://dx.doi.org/.10.1038/ki.1997.1909150449. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar12 NIOSH. Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Diacetyl and 2,3-Pentanedione (Draft). Washington, DC:National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (12 Aug 2011). Available: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docket/archive/pdfs/NIOSH-245/0245-081211-draftdocument.pdf [accessed 1 Nov 2012]. Google ScholarFiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited by CARVALHO F, MOURA A, RODRIGUES G, NUNES N, LIMA D, PESSOA C, COSTA M, FERREIRA P and PERON A (2016) Are salty liquid food flavorings in vitro antitumor substances?, Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, 10.1590/0001-3765201620150553, 88:3, (1419-1430), Online publication date: 1-Sep-2016. Scott P, Abelmann A, Hoyt S and Kerger B (2015) Headspace and small-chamber studies of airborne diacetyl release from selected food flavoring mixtures: activity coefficients and air modeling implications, Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry, 10.1080/02772248.2015.1100915, 97:10, (1319-1336), Online publication date: 26-Nov-2015. Pierce J, Abelmann A, Lotter J, Comerford C, Keeton K and Finley B (2015) Characterization of naturally occurring airborne diacetyl concentrations associated with the preparation and consumption of unflavored coffee, Toxicology Reports, 10.1016/j.toxrep.2015.08.006, 2, (1200-1208), . Gaffney S, Abelmann A, Pierce J, Glynn M, Henshaw J, McCarthy L, Lotter J, Liong M and Finley B (2015) Naturally occurring diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione concentrations associated with roasting and grinding unflavored coffee beans in a commercial setting, Toxicology Reports, 10.1016/j.toxrep.2015.08.003, 2, (1171-1181), . Shibamoto T (2014) Diacetyl: Occurrence, Analysis, and Toxicity, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 10.1021/jf500615u, 62:18, (4048-4053), Online publication date: 7-May-2014. Pierce J, Abelmann A, Spicer L, Adams R and Finley B (2014) Diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione exposures associated with cigarette smoking: implications for risk assessment of food and flavoring workers, Critical Reviews in Toxicology, 10.3109/10408444.2014.882292, 44:5, (420-435), Online publication date: 1-May-2014. Nicole W (2013) Secret Ingredients: Who Knows What's in Your Food?, Environmental Health Perspectives, 121:4, (a126-a133), Online publication date: 1-Apr-2013. Vol. 120, No. 12 December 2012Metrics About Article Metrics Publication History Originally published3 December 2012Published in print1 December 2012 Financial disclosuresPDF download License information EHP is an open-access journal published with support from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health. All content is public domain unless otherwise noted. Note to readers with disabilities EHP strives to ensure that all journal content is accessible to all readers. However, some figures and Supplemental Material published in EHP articles may not conform to 508 standards due to the complexity of the information being presented. If you need assistance accessing journal content, please contact [email protected]. Our staff will work with you to assess and meet your accessibility needs within 3 working days.
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