Abstract
Introduction: The unscientific process of beedi (Indian smoking element) production under constant exposure of nicotine dust in India induces serious health disorders to the workers. Beedi produces more tar in smoke than cigarette due to lack of any filtering process. Sometimes active consumption of beedi and other tobacco products makes the users more vulnerable to cancer, respiratory diseases and cardiovascular disorders etc. Objective: The present study was designed to observe the protective effects of raw turmeric rhizomes on health conditions of the beedi workers who were exposed to nicotine dust for 8-10 hours daily for a long duration. Methods: General health checkup, blood glucose levels, lipid profiles and the hemogram profiles etc. of the workers from two beedi factories (Canning of South 24 Parganas District and Bankura of Bankura District, both in West Bengal, India) were conducted before and after the consumption of laboratory processed raw turmeric rhizomes (80 mg/kg body weight/day by chewing) for 8 weeks. Blood samples (5 ml) were collected from all the workers before and after the completion of the study and analyzed for estimation of different parameters. Results: The results showed significant improvement in the general health conditions of the factory workers who consumed raw-turmeric rhizomes. Significant improvement of blood pressure, blood glucose levels and lipid profiles and also improvement of creatinine, serum protein and SGOT/SGPT levels of the treated volunteers were noted. The results also showed improvement in the enzymes levels of SOD, GSH and GPX in the serum of rhizomes consumed workers. Conclusion: It is concluded that turmeric rhizomes are effective in the amelioration of nicotine-induced complications. It would be a better therapeutic supplement for the improvement of health for the workers who are compelled to work under nicotinic dust environment for a long time.
Highlights
The unscientific process of beedi (Indian smoking element) production under constant exposure of nicotine dust in India induces serious health disorders to the workers
The results showed improvement in the enzymes levels of SOD, GSH and GPX in the serum of rhizomes consumed workers
It is concluded that turmeric rhizomes are effective in the amelioration of nicotine-induced complications
Summary
The unscientific process of beedi (Indian smoking element) production under constant exposure of nicotine dust in India induces serious health disorders to the workers. Sometimes active consumption of beedi and other tobacco products makes the users more vulnerable to cancer, respiratory diseases and cardiovascular disorders etc. Nicotine has an affinity for melanin-containing tissues due to its precursor function in melanin synthesis It irreversibly binds with melanin and increases nicotine dependence that lowers smoking cessation rates in darker pigmented individuals [4]. Nicotine aggravates DNA single strand break resulting in the higher percentage of DNA damage under protein-restricted condition [7,8]. It is a risk factor for oral cancer [9], periodontal disease [10] and osteoporosis [11]
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