ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Environmental Health and Exposome
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1678549
This article is part of the Research TopicClimate Change, Air Pollution, and Health Inequality: Vulnerability of Marginalized PopulationsView all 25 articles
Toxicological Evaluation of Volatile Organic Compounds Emitted from Scented Candles: In Silico ADMET Profiling, Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, and Lung Injury in Rats
Provisionally accepted
Mervat Mohamed1*
Awatif M. E Omran2Amnah Obidan2Seham O. Alsulami2Nuha B Aljohani2
Eman Alshehri3Hajer Alfarteesh4Norah Bakheet Aljohani5Ayat G Ali6- 1Cairo University Faculty of Science, Giza, Egypt
- 2University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia
- 3King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- 4King Khaled University, Abha, Asser Region , Saudi Arabia, Asser, Saudi Arabia
- 5King Abdul Aziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- 66Department of Biochemistry, El Sahel Teaching Hospital, GOTHI, Cairo, Egypt, Cairo, Egypt
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Scented candles are widely used in the Middle East, particularly in the Arab Gulf region, to enhance indoor environments. However, limited ventilation in enclosed air-conditioned spaces can cause emissions to accumulate, posing health risks. Although the chemical composition of candle emissions has been examined, their in vivo toxicological effects under realistic exposure conditions remain unclear. This study evaluated the toxicity of scented candle emissions in male Wistar rats. Fifty-four rats were divided into nine groups (n = 6/group): controls exposed to fresh air, unscented candle emissions, or scented candle emissions for 1, 3, or 6 hours daily, five days per week for eight weeks under indoor-like conditions. GC-MS analysis identified 20 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in unscented and 60 in scented candles. In silico ADMET profiling predicted toxicity for several compounds. Biochemical assays showed elevated serum TNF-α and IL-6, increased MDA, and reduced CAT and T-SOD activities in lung tissue, indicating systemic inflammation and oxidative stress. qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry confirmed upregulation of inflammatory markers (TNF-α, COX-2). Histopathology revealed inflammatory infiltration, fibrosis, and necrobiotic changes, particularly in scented candle-exposed groups. Chronic scented candle exposure in poorly ventilated spaces causes inflammation, oxidative stress, and lung injury.
Keywords: scented candles, admet, Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, Pulmonary toxicity
Received: 02 Aug 2025; Accepted: 08 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mohamed, Omran, Obidan, Alsulami, Aljohani, Alshehri, Alfarteesh, Aljohani and Ali. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mervat Mohamed, Cairo University Faculty of Science, Giza, Egypt
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