A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON INHALATION TOXICOLOGY BETWEEN AIR FRESHENERS OF SYNTHETIC AND NATURAL ORIGIN

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to design and formulate natural air freshener gel and evaluate the inhalational toxicity by comparing it with synthetic air freshener gel. The natural air freshener was prepared using natural gelatin and sandalwood oil as essential oil and the synthetic air freshener was prepared by using carbopol-940, Propylene glycol (10 % w/w), Ethanol (3% of total volume), triethanolamine as chemical composition and sandalwood as essential oil. The animals were acquired as per the CPCSEA guidelines, divided into groups and undergone with chronic exposure of prepared gels for 2 months. The animals were sacrificed, and the tissues were sent for histopathological studies. As per the results obtained from histopathology, it is observed that the animal groups which were allowed for the chronic inhalation of natural air freshener are safer when compared with the synthetic air freshener. The alveolar walls of the lungs became thicker and destroyed at some places for the animal group that was treated with synthetic air freshener and very less thick in case of natural ones. In case of liver, the normal polygonal shape of hepatocytes was distorted, their nuclei were enlarged, tissue was also damaged due to the appearance of blood streaks among the hepatocytes in synthetic treated group and the similar effects in natural are very less. In case of cerebral cortex of brain of mice, vacuolation was found in some areas due to damage and degeneration of neuronal cell body in synthetic treated group and these are very less in natural treated groups.