Formulation and in-vivo evaluation of L-cysteine chewing gums for binding carcinogenic acetaldehyde in the saliva during smoking.

Cigarette smoke contains toxic amounts of acetaldehyde that dissolves in saliva, posing a significant risk of developing oral, laryngeal and pharyngeal carcinomas. L-cysteine, a non-essential amino acid, can react covalently with carcinogenic acetaldehyde to form a stable, non-toxic 2-methylthiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid. The main aim of this study was to find out whether it is possible to develop a chewing gum formulation that would contain cysteine in amounts sufficient to bind all the acetaldehyde dissolved in saliva during the smoking of one cigarette.

Effect of nutrient loading on bacterioplankton community composition in lake mesocosms.

Changes in bacterioplankton community composition were followed in mesocosms set up in the littoral of Lake Vesijärvi, southern Finland, over two summers. Increasing nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in the mesocosms represented different trophic states, from mesotrophic to hypertrophic. In 1998, the mesocosms were in a turbid state with a high biomass of phytoplankton, whereas in 1999, macrophytes proliferated and a clear-water state prevailed.

Eliminating carcinogenic acetaldehyde by cysteine from saliva during smoking.

Tobacco smoking is one of the strongest risk factors not only for lung cancer but also for cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Acetaldehyde has been shown to dissolve into the saliva during smoking and to be a local carcinogen in the human upper digestive tract. Cysteine can bind to acetaldehyde and eliminate its toxicity.

Removal of acetaldehyde from saliva by a slow-release buccal tablet of L-cysteine.

High alcohol intake is an independent risk factor for upper gastrointestinal (GI)-tract cancers. There is increasing evidence that acetaldehyde, the first metabolite of ethanol, might be responsible for ethanol-associated carcinogenesis. Especially among Asian heavy drinkers with the ALDH2-deficiency gene, i.