Urinary volatomic profile of traditional tobacco smokers and electronic cigarettes users as a strategy to unveil potential health issues.

Introduction:
This article presents a study that aimed to establish the volatomic composition of urine samples from traditional tobacco smokers, e-cigarette users, and a control group of nonsmokers. The study used headspace solid-phase microextraction (hS-SPME) combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis to identify and compare the urinary volatile organic metabolites (uVOMs) of the three groups.

Key Points:

* The study identified a total of 45 uVOMs in the urine samples, with 34, 41, and 36 uVOMs in the control, traditional cigarette smokers, and e-cigarette users, respectively.
* The most predominant uVOMs were terpenic, aromatic, sulfur, and furanic compounds.
* The uVOM profile of traditional cigarette smokers was dominated by benzenederivatives, while the profile of e-cigarette users was dominated by alcohols.
* The study found that dietary habits had a significant influence on the urinary volatomic profile.
* The uVOMs identified in the study can result from both endogenous and exogenous sources, making it difficult to discriminate their origin and evaluate potential up- or downregulation of specific biochemical pathways.
* The OPLS-Da model showed that the control group and traditional cigarette smokers formed two separate groups, while the e-cigarette users showed correlations to both groups.
* The dendrogram analysis showed that controls 2 and 8 had a different profile than the remaining subjects in the control group, while all e-cigarette users recruited for the study were previously smokers.

Main Message:
The study suggests that the urinary volatomic profile of e-cigarette users is more closely related to the control group, indicating that e-cigarettes may be less harmful to human health than traditional tobacco cigarettes. however, the lack of standardization of e-cigarette products and the potential long-term effects on cardiovascular and respiratory functions require further investigation. The study also highlights the importance of considering dietary habits and other exogenous sources when analyzing uVOMs as potential biomarkers.

Berenguer C, Pereira JaM, Câmara JS. Urinary volatomic profile of traditional tobacco smokers and electronic cigarettes users as a strategy to unveil potential health issues. Journal of separation science. 2022;45(2):582-593. doi:10.1002/jssc.202100671