Die in vitro effek van osoon op die marmottragea
Abstract
Ozone is a natural occurring allotrope of oxygen with a strong oxidizing potential and a variety of potential uses, including its antimicrobial and deodorising properties.
The increased use of ozone led to questions regarding its safety when humans get exposed to relative high concentrations of the gas. It is of extreme importance to identify possible side effects and to determine in time whether chronic exposure to ozone has any negative long-term health effects. This study specifically focussed on the effect of ozone on the isolated guinea
pig trachea as well as its effect on the isolated trachea in the presence of various drugs with well-known effects, including methacholine, atropine, isoproterenol and indomethacin. The results found identified two direct effects on the isolated trachea due to ozone exposure: (i) A definite contraction of the isolated trachea immediately after exposure to ozone, and (ii) a clearly visible and significant hypersensitivity of the isolated trachea to irritants (methacholine in this case). We found that ozone has a significant inhibitive effect on the effect of Pagonists (isoproterenol), while the drug itself has a relaxing effect on the ozone-induced contraction of the isolated trachea. Ascorbic acid has a prophylactic effect on the ozone-induced contraction of the trachea without any effect on the ozone-induced metacholine hypersensitivity. lndomethacin
reduces the ozone-induced contraction of the trachea if present in the physiological solution, probably due to inhibition of inflammatory mediators that forms after ozone exposure. Muscarinic antagonist such as atropine does not appear to have any affect on the ozone-induced contraction, but did prevent the observation of hypersensitivity of the trachea to methacholine. lndomethacin was also found
to have an antagonistic effect towards the methacholine-induced contraction. Experiments with hydrogen peroxide showed that the observed effects of ozone are not due to the formation of peroxides in the physiological solution after the exposure of ozone to water. Observations in this study show that ozone does have a definite negative effect on respiratory health, and it is recommended that inhalation of ozone be
avoided by workers who get in daily contact with the gas, and especially by those with existing airway diseases. Anti-oxidants can be use as prophylactic protection against some of the effects of ozone.
Collections
- Health Sciences [2060]