Table 4.
Incense-smoke toxicity in distinct in vivo experimental settings
| Theme of study | Analysis of subjects | Salient findings | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | |||
| Short-term effects of oud incense (popular as agarwood perfume in Saudi Arabia and UAE) on larynges and voice acoustics | 72 volunteers (55.6% female) were examined on 5 min exposure to incense smoke, mean age 27.6 years, volunteers sat 1 m from an electrical sensor in a closed room, effects analysed via monitoring throat conditions and breathing difficulties | Exposure-duration severity was noticed in terms of throat malfunction and breathing difficulty. Throat burning was majorly noted in female subjects, but throat dryness and breathing difficulties were observed in both sexes | [74] |
| 2016 | |||
| Chronic effects of incense smoke (bakhur and oud brands) on renal function and architecture | Albino rats, divided into bakhur, oud, and charcoal groups, housed separately, incense exposure via whole-body access by burning 4 g incense on self-burning charcoal, analysed via anaesthetising and euthanising eight rats from each group on days 30, 60, and 90 | Significant enhancements in serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, uric acid, interleukin 4, TNFα, ultrastructural changes in kidney, elevated CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 gene expressions | [63] |
| Impact of incense combustion and household exposure on lung function | Adolescents recruited for mass asthma screening, status retrieved via parent/student questionnaires, valid lung function of 5010 students aged 14–16 years assessed through forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory velocity (FEV1) | Nearly 70.6% of the adolescents exposed to household incense smoke on daily basis exhibited lower FVC and FEV1, sharing bedrooms also decreased FVC and FEV1 | [59] |
| Particle texture of PAHs on burning three incense-stick types (two from Taiwan and one from Japan) assessed for bioreactivity | RAW264.7 murine macrophage cell lines administered with 16 PAHs, 0, 3.125, 6.25, 12.5, 25, 50 and 100 μg•mL−1 incense-particle extracts | PAH 137.84–231.00 pg•μg−1 and total toxic equivalent (6.73–26.30) pg•μg−1. Analysis after 24 h revealed enhanced TNFα and N generation with reduced viability, similar observations for cells treated with particles, harvested via smouldering environment-friendly incense brand | [75] |