The aetiology of experimental fibrosing alveobronchiolitis induced in rats by paprika dust.

The effect of a single intratracheal dose of respirable paprika (Hungarian) dust, paprika dust extract, and cellulose dust on the lungs of rats was examined sequentially one and three months after a treatment. Treatment with respirable paprika and cellulose dusts resulted in alveobronchiolitis at the end of the first month and fibrotic changes at the end of the third month. As the extract of paprika dust caused no histopathological alterations, it is assumed that the high cellulose content of paprika was responsible for the histological reactions.