The Impact of JUUL E-Liquid and E-Cigarette Flavorings on C. Elegans Using Chemotaxis

Overview

E-cigarettes/vapes have become popular in the past decade due partly to marketing as alternatives to traditional cigarettes. Flavor varieties and availability have made them popular and they are now the most common nicotine delivery device among youth in the US. There are currently few FDA regulations on these products and manufacturers are not required to list their ingredients. One of the most prolific E-cigarette brands is JUUL with Mango and Mint as the most popular flavors. Our previous study investigated JUUL flavors on C. elegans. This study wished to determine the effects of JUUL E-liquid and non-JUUL E-cigarette flavorings on the survival of Daf-9 and Egl-4 mutant C. elegans. Daf-9 mutants are stress-resistant and Egl-4 mutants are olfactory-defective. We used chemotaxis and divided the worm plates into four concentric sections, with the test solution placed in the center. Mango and Mint were used as both the JUUL and non-JUUL flavors. The concentrations tested were 1%, 25%, 50%, and 100%, made by diluting the substances in E. coli bacteria or sterile water. Chemotaxis and survival were monitored for 6 hours. The results showed that almost every flavor tested resulted in dose-response patterns. JUUL Mango did not cause Daf-9 mutant death in either the water or E. coli dilutions. The Egl-4 mutants exposed to JUUL Mango showed a death dose-response pattern for dilutions in E. coli or water. The JUUL Mint 100% concentrations caused death for both the Daf-9 and Egl-4 mutants. There was no death in the 50% concentrations diluted in E. coli for both Daf-9 and Egl-4, although there was death in the 50% concentrations diluted in water for Daf-9 and Egl-4 mutants. No death was seen with the non-JUUL Mango flavoring. No death was seen with the Daf-9 mutant for the non-JUUL Mint flavor. Ninety-percent of the Egl-4 mutants died in the 100% concentration of the non-JUUL Mint flavor diluted in E. coli and, for the dilutions in water, death followed a dose-response pattern. These data suggest that the JUUL brand products have more toxic impacts on C. elegans than the non-JUUL flavorings. The JUUL products caused more death in the Egl-4 mutants than with the Daf-9 mutants. The results vary between Mint and Mango, suggesting that the ingredients used to flavor the JUUL E-liquids may be part of the cause of the varied effects.

Competition history

• AJAS 2020 Category not listed

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