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© 1992 Oxford University Press

research-article

Carcinogenic tobacc-specific nitrosamines are present at unusually high levels in the saliva of oral snuff users in Sudan

A.M. Idris 1 2, J. Nair 3, M. Friesen 4, H. Ohshima 4, I. Brouet 4, E.M. Faustman 2 and H. Bartsch 4 5

1School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum P.O. Box 102, Khartoum, Sudan
2Department of Environmental Health, University of Washington SC-34, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
3Carcinogenesis Division, Cancer Research Institute, Tata Memorial Centre Parel, Bombay 400 012, India
4International Agency for Research on Cancer, 150 Cours Albert Thomas 69372 Lyon Cedex 08. France

5To whom reprint requests should be sent

Exposure to tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNA) has been measured in the saliva of 12 users of Sudanese oral snuff (toombak). Using GC coupled to thermal energy analysis, levels of N'-nitrosonornlcotine (NNN), N'-nitrosoanatabine (NAT), N'-nitrosoanabasine (NAB) and 4-(methylnitrosamino)- 1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) were measured before, during and after snuff taking. In addition, two TSNA, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL) and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (iso-NNAL), were detected in the saliva of tobacco chewers for the first time and were confinned by GC-MS. Nine out of 10 subjects had detectable saliva levels of total TSNA before chewing (0.01–1.0 .µg/ml) and immediately following chewing (0.1–2.6 µg/ml). During dipping, TSNA concentrations reached µg/ml levels; (range; number of subjects positive) NNN: (0.6–2.1; 12/12), NAT (0.06–0.5; 2/12), NAB (0.05–1.9; 12/12), NNK (0.06–6.7; 11/12), NNAL (0.05– 3.3; 11/12) and iso-NNAL (0.07–0.4; 8/12). These saliva TSNA levels, which are 10–100 times the levels previously reported, are consistent with recent observations of unusally high TSNA levels in Sudanese toombak. As several of these TSNA have been shown to be carcinogenic in animals and epidemiological studies have associated human snuff use with tumours of the oral cavity, these findings draw attention to a significant potential public health hazard.


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