Development of a bioassay to characterize the effects of menthol in cigarettes triggered by the cold-menthol receptor TRPM8

摘要

For cigarettes, more than 600 ingredients are used in manufacturing processes. Menthol is a widely used additive in cigarettes to modify the flavour, but it has also physiological properties that might promote the inhalation of tobacco smoke. Menthol is a well-known agonist of the cold-menthol receptor "transient receptor potential melastatin 8" (TRPM8) resulting in a cooling sensation in the respiratory tract during smoking of mentholated cigarettes. Based on this, it might be expected that mentholated cigarettes help to increase the respiratory depth during smoking and thus concurrent nicotine uptake. With the revision of the European Tobacco Products Directive (2014/40/EU) mentholated cigarettes will be prohibited in 2020, but menthol can still be used, as long as its characterizing mint-like flavor is not noticeable. However, the TRPM8 receptor can also be activated by other agonists, e. g. by the frequently used flavoring agent linalool. Product control will therefore require analytical means to define and subsequently detect agonists of TRPM8.