Impact of Exposure of Chemical Fumes on Blood Pressure and Peak Expiratory Flow Rate in Industrial Workers of Faisalabad

Objectives: 1. To determine the impact of duration of exposure to industrial chemical fumes on Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) and blood pressure of the industrial workers. 2. To find out the association between changes in blood pressure and PEFR due to exposure to industrial chemical fumes in these subjects. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed at Aziz Fatimah Medical and Dental College, Faisalabad. The study participants were 151 males working in the chemical industries. The study was approved by institutional ethical committee and informed consent was taken from the participants. Free camp was arranged for three days in September 2020 in the industrial area of Faisalabad. Thorough history of exposure to chemicals was taken using structured proforma. PEFR values were recorded using Wrights handheld peak flow meter. Blood pressure was taken by auscultatory method using mercury sphygmomanometer. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results: Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly raised with increase in duration of exposure.  PEFR levels were significantly declined with increase in duration of exposure to chemicals. Significant negative association was noted between diastolic blood pressure and PEFR (p value = 0.003). Negative correlation was observed between PEFR and systolic Blood pressure, however it was not statistically significant (p value = 0.92). Conclusions: PEFR decreased while Systolic and diastolic blood pressures increased significantly with increase in the duration of exposure to chemicals. There was a significant negative correlation between PEFR and diastolic blood pressure while there was no association between PEFR and systolic blood pressure.

Effect of Processing Methods and Antioxidants on the Reduction of Aflatoxins in Red Chillies Capsicum Annuum L.

Chili is an important spice and used as salad, complementary dish, medicine, industrial product, or as decoration. It is consumed as fresh, dry, powder, paste or as sauce. It enhances food palatability, inducing the consumption of other foods. It is a rich source of Vitamin A & C. In Asia, chili is an important component in the cropping system. In terms of area, it is ranked first in Asia and third in the world as most important vegetable. Chilies are subject to various pest and disease constraints to optimal production. The contamination of the crops with mycotoxins from the growth of Aspergillus flavus and/or Aspergillus parasiticus is one of the most serious problems. Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of fungi. Due to the widespread distribution of fungi in the environment, mycotoxins are considered to be one of the most important contaminants of foods and feeds. Aflatoxins are important class of mycotoxins. The toxins can be produced in the field prior to harvest, or alternatively, can arise due to fungal growth under poor storage conditions. Mycotoxins can produce both in temperate and tropical regions of the world, depending on the species of fungi. The extraction, clean up and analysis methodology for aflatoxins in chilies were validated and found it efficient and good in respect of recovery, reproducibility, repeatability, resolution and cost-effective. The collected chili samples from Faisalabad Division, Pakistan exhibited high level of aflatoxins but after treatment with γ-irradiation, more than 95% reduction in AFB 1 and ≥ 97% in Total (∑AFB 1 + AFB 2 +AFG 1 + AFG 2 ) were observed at a dose of 6 kGy. Citric acid was effective for the reduction of AFs in chilies and reduced 89% AFB 1 and 90% total AFs in contaminated chilies. Propionic acid is also used for the reduction of AFs in red chilies and it reduced 80% AFB 1 and 76% total AFs in chilies. Antioxidants like butylated hydroxyl-anisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxyl-toluene (BHT) were effective to reduce fungal load and the of (20:20 mM) of BHA and BHT were inhibit 100% of fungal load in malt extract agar of chilies. From the results it is evident that among aflatoxin reduction techniques, γ-irradiation is a good technology to remove contaminants like AFs from chilies. The food quality of irradiated cereals was evaluated to study any chemical change in vitamin E and fungal biomass. The total biomass (CFU g -1 ) showed linear behavior as increasing the dose level of gamma irradiation. In some samples of chilies, no microflora (fungi) was observed after 72 h. of incubation. From the results however, it is revealed that with increasing γ-irradiation doses a decrease in vitamin E content was observed in chilies but this decrease is not significant (p > 0.05). In the present study, phenolics, flavonoids and antioxidant activity of chilies and selected spices (cloves, turmeric, oregano, black pepper and cinnamon) have been evaluated in the Department of Food Science, Cornell University, USA. From the results, it has been evident that chilies and spices are good source of antioxidants. Special attention is urgently needed to create awareness of the high level of AFs contamination in chilies, among farmers, consumers, and traders. Special emphasis should also be given to adopt GHP and GSP in order to minimize the toxin in chilie