Higher cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of burning incense than cigarette

Abstract

Hazardous particulates and volatiles produced by incense burning accumulate in the indoor atmosphere, where they pose a health risk, entering the human body via the respiratory system. Yet, few studies have focused on the effects of the total particulate matter from incense burning on human health. Here, we evaluate the health risks associated with the total particulate matter generated from burning incense indoors for the first time. The total particulate matter and major chemical components of two types of incense smoke were characterized using an electrical low pressure impactor and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Their genotoxicity and cytotoxicity were compared with mainstream tobacco smoke using in vitro assays. Our results show that both the particulate number and mass of incense smoke were dominated by ultrafine to fine particles. In addition, many aromatic, irritant, and toxic compounds were identified in the particulate fraction. In vitro assessments showed that the genotoxicity of the particulate matter from one particular incense sample was higher than the reference cigarette sample with the same dose. All particulate matter fractions from the incense investigated were found to possess greater cytotoxicity on Chinese hamster ovary cells than smoke from the reference cigarette. Collective assessment of these data will affect the evaluation of incense products and facilitate measures to reduce exposure to their smoke. Clearly, there needs to be greater awareness and management of the health risks associated with burning incense in indoor environments.

Air pollution of beauty salons by cosmetics from the analysis of suspensed particulate matter

“…There were no indoor PM-bound EC sources in Salon 1; its high indoor level was due to the accumulation of outdoor PM-bound EC. At Salon 4, where burning of scented candles and incense sticks (almost all the time during opening hours) was an effective indoor source of PM and PM-bound EC (Knight et al 2001;Gupta and Bhandari 2011;Manoukian et al 2013;Kumar et al 2014;Zhou et al 2015Zhou et al , 2016Goel et al 2017), the PM-bound EC originating from indoor sources prevailed over that from outdoors. This made the differences between the indoor and outdoor 8-h concentrations for both PM 4 -bound EC and TPM-bound EC statistically significant (Table 1).…”

Long-term incense use and the risk of end-stage renal disease among Chinese in Singapore: the Singapore Chinese health study

“…Incense burning generates a complex mixture of gases and particulate matter, which is known to be deleterious to human health [11, 12]. In fact, an in-vitro study has shown that the genotoxicity of particulate matter from incense burning could be higher than that from cigarette smoke [13]. Epidemiological studies suggest that incense use is associated with elevated blood pressure [6], and higher risks of cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality [7, 14], upper respiratory tract cancers [15], and nasopharyngeal cancer [16].…”

Household incense burning and children's respiratory health: A cohort study in Hong Kong

“…Animal experiments have linked incense burning with damages to pneumocytes . An in vitro experiment also showed that incense smoke could induce cytotoxicity and genotoxicity . Some epidemiological studies have also investigated the health effects of incense burning, mainly on the respiratory system, but the results are inconsistent .…”