ENHANCED TRANSLOCATION OF PARTICLES FROM LUNGS BY JAGGERY

Because industrial workers in dusty or smoky environments seemed to ex perience no discomfort if they consumed the sugar cane product jaggery . experimental studies were undertaken to observe the effects of jagge ry on dust-exposed rats. Rats with and without a single intratracheal instillation of coal dust (50 mg/rat) were orally gavaged with jaggery (0.5 g/rat, 5 days/week for 90 days). The enhanced translocation of c oal particles from lungs to tracheobronchial lymph nodes was observed in jaggery-treated rats. Moreover, the jaggery reduced the coal-induce d histological lesions and hydroxyproline contents of lungs. The lesio ns induced in omental tissue and regional lymph nodes by a single intr aperitoneal injection of 50 mg each of coal and silica dust were modif ied by jaggery (0.5 g/rat, 5 days/week for 30 days). These findings al ong with the preventive action of jaggery on smoke-induced lung lesion s suggest the potential of jaggery as protective agent for workers in dusty and smoky environments.