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Full Length
Research Paper
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The effects of tobacco smoke generated from cigarettes
exposed to pulsed electromagnetic field in the rat
Predrag Vukomanović1,
Milan Jokanović1* and Zoran Radosavljević2
1Faculty
of Medicine, University of Nish, Serbia.
2Special
Hospital for Internal Diseases, Mladenovac, Serbia.
*Corresponding author. E-mail:
milan.jokanovic@gmail.com
Accepted 21 April,2011 |
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Abstract |
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In this study, we have investigated the toxic
effects of tobacco smoke obtained from
cigarettes treated in pulsed electromagnetic
field in the rat. The treatment of cigarettes
was accomplished before the initiation of animal
studies after exposure of standard cigarettes to
pulsed electromagnetic irradiation of low power
(>10-7W) and wide frequency spectrum
(30 Hz to 300 GHz) during 24 h according to the
technology described in patents WO 01/26493, EP
1092354, US 2004/0206366A1 and AU2933700
entitled “Method for the Qualitative Improvement
of the Products of Tobacco Plant”. Rats of both
sexes were exposed to tobacco smoke obtained
after burning 16 or 32 cigarettes per day during
90 days. The toxicity was assessed on the basis
of clinical appearance, changes in behavior,
biomarkers of exposure to tobacco smoke (carboxyhemoglobin
in blood and thiocyanates in serum) and
histopathological and morphological analysis of
the lungs of all animals included in the study.
The results obtained have shown that, the smoke
generated from treated cigarettes formed
significantly lower amount of carboxyhemoglobin
in rats of both sexes when compared to standard
nontreated cigarettes and the effect was
dose-dependent. Tobacco smoke obtained from
standard nontreated cigarettes induced
significant dose-dependent increase of
thiocyanate concentration in serum. However, in
rats exposed to the smoke of treated cigarettes,
there were no differences in thiocynate
concentration when compared to controls not
exposed to tobacco smoke. The results of
morphometrical analysis in the rats exposed to
tobacco smoke generated from standard nontreated
cigarettes have shown statistically significant
and dose-dependent decrease in participation of
the lung parenchima in total lung surface up to
34% in male rats and up to 18% in female rats
exposed to the higher dose of nontreated
cigarette smoke. In addition, in these rats the
mean alveolar circumference was incresed for
about 17%. In rats exposed to the smoke of
treated cigarettes there were no
histopathological changes and differences in
morphometrical parameters when compared to
control animals. In conclusion, the results of
this study have shown that, after treatment of
cigarettes in pulsed electromagnetic field, the
cigarettes produced tobaco smoke that was much
less toxic in rats of both sexes exposed by
inhalation route during 90 days when compared to
the same cigarettes that were not treated in
electromagnetic field.
Key words:
Tobacco smoke, carboxyhemoglobin, thiocyanates, pulsed
electromagnetic field. |
