Korpi Anne, Järnberg Jill, Pasanen Anna-Liisa
University of Kuopio, Department of Environmental Science, Kuopio, Finland.
Crit Rev Toxicol. 2009;39(2):139-93. doi: 10.1080/10408440802291497.
Microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs) are a variety of compounds formed in the metabolism of fungi and bacteria. Of more than 200 compounds identified as MVOCs in laboratory experiments, none can be regarded as exclusively of microbial origin or as specific for certain microbial species. Thus, the recognition of microbially contaminated areas by MVOC measurements is not successful with current methods. In this review, the basic physical and chemical properties of 96 typical MVOCs have been summarised. Of these, toxicological and exposure data were gathered for the 15 MVOCs most often analysed and reported in buildings with moisture and microbial damage. The most obvious health effect of MVOC exposure is eye and upper-airway irritation. However, in human experimental exposure studies, symptoms of irritation have appeared at MVOC concentrations several orders of magnitude higher than those measured indoors (single MVOC levels in indoor environments have ranged from a few ng/m(3) up to 1 mg/m(3)). This is also supported by dose-dependent sensory-irritation response, as determined by the American Society for Testing and Materials mouse bioassay. On the other hand, the toxicological database is poor even for the 15 examined MVOCs. There may be more potent compounds and other endpoints not yet evaluated.
微生物挥发性有机化合物（MVOCs）是真菌和细菌新陈代谢过程中形成的多种化合物。在实验室实验中鉴定出的200多种MVOCs化合物中，没有一种可以被视为完全源自微生物或特定于某些微生物物种。因此，目前通过测量MVOCs来识别微生物污染区域的方法并不成功。在这篇综述中，总结了96种典型MVOCs的基本物理和化学性质。其中，收集了在有潮湿和微生物破坏的建筑物中最常分析和报告的15种MVOCs的毒理学和暴露数据。接触MVOCs最明显的健康影响是眼睛和上呼吸道刺激。然而，在人体实验暴露研究中，出现刺激症状时的MVOC浓度比室内测量浓度高出几个数量级（室内环境中单一MVOC水平范围从几纳克/立方米到1毫克/立方米）。这也得到了美国材料与试验协会小鼠生物测定法确定的剂量依赖性感觉刺激反应的支持。另一方面，即使对于所研究的15种MVOCs，毒理学数据库也不完善。可能存在更具效力的化合物以及尚未评估的其他终点。
