Plant constituents of cotton dust and lung effects after inhalation.

Experiments were performed to assess pulmonary reactions after inhalation of cotton dusts with different levels of tannins, terpenoid aldehydes and bacterial endotoxins. Guinea-pigs were exposed to cotton dust. Free lung cells were obtained by lavage 24 h later. A dose-response relationship was found between the number of neutrophils and the amount of endotoxin in the dust. No influence of terpenoid aldehyde or tannin levels could be detected. Cotton mill workers were exposed to dust from glanded and glandless cottons in an experimental cardroom. The average decreases in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) over the workday after carding the two cottons were the same, although levels of dust, tannin or terpenoid aldehydes were different. The level of airborne endotoxin was, however, equal. The results support observations from other studies on the importance of endotoxin for the development of the acute reactions observed after cotton dust exposure.