TY - JOUR T1 - Identification of flavouring substances of genotoxic concern present in e-cigarette refills JF - Food and Chemical Toxicology Y1 - 2021 A1 - Sophia Barhdadi A1 - Birgit Mertens A1 - Melissa Van Bossuyt A1 - Jolien Van de Maele A1 - Roel Anthonissen A1 - Michael Canfyn A1 - Patricia Courselle A1 - Rogiers, Vera A1 - Eric Deconinck A1 - Vanhaecke, Tamara KW - (Q)SAR methodologies KW - e-cigarettes KW - genotoxicity KW - mutagenicity AB -

E-cigarettes have become very popular, a trend that has been stimulated by the wide variety of available e-liquid flavours. Considering the large number of e-liquid flavours (>7000), there is an urgent need to establish a screening strategy to prioritize the flavouring substances of highest concern for human health. In the present study, a prioritization strategy combining analytical screening, in silico tools and literature data was developed to identify potentially genotoxic e-liquid flavourings. Based on the analysis of 129 e-liquids collected on the Belgian market, 60 flavourings with positive in silico predictions for genotoxicity were identified. By using literature data, genotoxicity was excluded for 33 of them whereas for 5, i.e. estragole, safrole, 2-furylmethylketon, 2,5-dimethyl4-hydroxyl-3(2H)-furanone and transhexanal, there was a clear concern for in vivo genotoxicity. A selection of 4 out of the remaining 22 flavourings was tested in two in vitro genotoxicity assays. Three out of the four tested flavourings induced gene mutations and chromosome damage in vitro, whereas equivocal results were obtained for the fourth compound. Thus, although there is a legislative framework which excludes the use of CMR compounds in e-liquids, flavourings of genotoxic concern are present and might pose a health risk for e-cigarette users.

VL - 147 CP - 111864 M3 - 10.1016/j.fct.2020.111864 ER -