Potential in vitro toxicity of fusel oil components

Fusel oil is a by-product during the fermentation of alcoholic beverage, mainly including n-propanol, isobutanol, isopentanol, and others. Long-term or excessive intake of them may cause potential harm to human health. In the present work, we preliminarily evaluated the cytotoxicity of n-propanol and isobutanol, main components of fusel oil, in human fetal astrocytes (SVGp12), human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1), and human microglial cells (HMC3). The results showed that both n-propanol and isobutanol exhibited cytotoxicity in all three types of cells, and the release of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and IL-8) significantly increased in the cells exposed to fusel oil components. The transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) values were decreased and the permeability was increased in HMEC-1 cells exposed to fusel oil components. These results indicate that fusel oil components may cause potential harm to human health.