Fig. 2. Acrolein, mitochondrial functioning and polyethylene glycol (PEG). Absorbance (ordinate) is an index of mitochondrial function/oxidative metabolism. Note that control cells (untreated) showed characteristic MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) absorbance spectra and the addition of PEG to the medium did not affect the MTT assay. Mitochondrial function, however, is markedly compromised by the addition of 100 µmol l^–1 acrolein, and this result is not affected by the inclusion of PEG in the assay medium. *Statistically significantly different from the control (P0.05).