These are many
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are synthesized, produced from
petroleum or derived from natural compounds, mostly plants. Fragrant and
volatile organic compounds from plants have been used as
food additives, medicines and
aromatherapy. Several clinical and pathological studies have shown that chronic abuse of VOCs, mainly
toluene, causes several neuropsychiatric disorders. Little is known about the mechanisms of neurotoxicity of the
solvents. n-
Octanal,
nonanal, and
2-ethyl-1-hexanol, which are used catalyzers or intermediates of chemical reactions, are released into the environment.
Essential oils have the functions of self-defense, sterilization, and antibiosis in plants. When
volatile organic compounds enter the body, there is the possibility that they will pass through the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and affect the central nervous system (CNS). However, the direct effects of
volatile organic compounds on neural function and their toxicities are still unclear. We compared the toxicities of n-
octanal,
nonanal and
2-ethyl-1-hexanol with those of five naturally derived fragrant organic compounds (FOCs),
linalool,
cis-3-hexen-1-ol,
isoamyl alcohol, n-
propyl alcohol and n-
phenethyl alcohol. MTT assay of human
neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cells showed that the IC50 values of
linalool,
cis-3-hexen-1-ol,
isoamyl alcohol, n-
propyl alcohol and
phenethyl alcohol were 1.33, 2.3, >5, >5, and 2.39 mM, respectively, and the IC50 values of
toluene, n-
octanal,
nonanal and
2-ethyl-1-hexanol were 850, 37.2, 8.31 and 15.1 μM, respectively. FOCs showed lower toxicities than those of VOCs. These results indicate that FOCs are safer than other compounds.