Toxicity of Smokeless Tobacco Extract after 184-Day Repeated Oral Administration in Rats.

Chenlin Yu,Ying Zong,Yongchun Chen,Xiuming Du,Jinlian Hu,Shufang Cui,Ziteng Zhang,Guocai Lu,Shijie Feng,Yangang Liu,Jikuai Chen

doi:10.3390/ijerph13030281

Abstract

The use of smokeless tobacco (ST) is growing rapidly and globally. The consumption of ST is associated with an increased risk for developing chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and myocardial infarction, and has led to many public health problems. It is very important to access the toxicity of ST. This experiment presents data from 184-day toxicology studies in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats designed to characterize the chronic effects of a smokeless tobacco extract (STE). The control group and treatment groups were matched for a range of nicotine levels. Animals were given STE by oral gavage with doses of 3.75 (low-dose), 7.50 (mid-dose) and 15.00 (high-dose) mg·nicotine/kg body weight/day for 184 days, followed by 30 days for recovery. Variables evaluated included body weights, feed consumption, clinical observations, clinical and anatomic pathology (including organ weights), and histopathology. Decreased body weights and organ weights (heart, liver and kidney) were found in animals in the mid-dose and high-dose groups. STE also showed moderate and reversible toxicity in esophagus, stomach, liver, kidney and lung.

Highlights

Worldwide, tobacco use is one of the most preventable causes of morbidity, disability and mortality [1,2,3]
Mean food consumption data indicated no treatment-related changes during the dosing phase or the recovery phase
Body weights were significantly decreased in females given the low (Weeks 4, p < 0.05), medium (Weeks 1–5 and 8–30, p < 0.05) and high (Weeks 1–5 and 8–30, p < 0.05) doses of smokeless tobacco extract (STE), compared with controls (Figure 2)

Summary

Introduction

Tobacco use is one of the most preventable causes of morbidity, disability and mortality [1,2,3]. Tobacco kills around six million people each year [4], accounting for 12% of global adult mortality [5]. Tobacco can be smoked or consumed in smokeless form. The use of smokeless tobacco (ST) is growing rapidly and globally [6]. Consumption of ST products is popular in the United States, Sweden, India, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and various European countries [7], and it is gaining popularity in East Asia.

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Conclusion