Scientists at the University of California, Riverside have discovered that heating the main ingredient found in most e-cigarette liquids can produce two toxic chemicals that damage human lung cells.
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These two substances — methylglyoxal and acetaldehyde — can form when liquids containing propylene glycol are heated.
Using lab-grown human airway tissue, researchers exposed the cells to realistic levels of each chemical and monitored their reactions. They found that both compounds disrupted essential cellular functions, but methylglyoxal caused significantly greater harm even at much lower concentrations. It interfered with the mitochondria — the cell’s energy-producing structures — and weakened the actin cytoskeleton, which maintains cell shape and strength.
Professor Prue Talbot, the study’s senior author, said:
“These changes are signs of stress and injury, and they could lead to long-term health problems if exposure is repeated during vaping.”
Talbot added that acetaldehyde has drawn more attention in the past due to its high levels in e-cigarette vapor and its known link to lung disease, but she emphasized that methylglyoxal may be even more toxic, despite appearing in smaller amounts.
Graduate researcher Man Wong, a lead author of the study, noted that low-powered e-cigarette devices, often believed to be safer, might actually produce higher levels of methylglyoxal.
He explained:
“Since nearly all e-cigarettes use propylene glycol, understanding how these byproducts form and how they affect cells is crucial for assessing long-term health risks.”
The study also revealed that even short-term exposure to these chemicals can alter cellular pathways related to energy production, DNA repair, and structural integrity.
Wong concluded:
“Our work helps explain how vaping-related chemicals contribute to lung injury, and we hope it will guide future studies and safety evaluations of e-cigarette products.”
