Vitamin B could help mitigate¹ the effects of the most dangerous type of air pollution, according to a new study published last Monday.

根据上周一发布的一项最新研究显示，维生素B可以帮助减轻最危险的空气污物对人类健康的影响。

The team found that something as simple as a daily vitamin B supplement could potentially reduce the impact of the tiny particles on the human body, although they stressed that research was in its early stages and the sample size was small.

尽管该研究小组强调其研究仍处于早期阶段，且样本量较小，但他们已经发现一些简单的日常维生素B可能会减弱微小颗粒对人体健康的影响。

Once the particles are inhaled² they can result in lung and systemic inflammation and stress, experts say.

专家称，这些微粒一旦被吸入，就会导致肺部和全身炎症。

According to the WHO, 92% of the world's population lives in places where the PM2.5 level exceeds the recommended threshold. However, how exactly these particles make people unwell is not fully understood.

据世界卫生组织估计，全世界有92%的人口居住在PM2.5超过WHO标准的地方。然而，人们还未完全了解这些分子对人体健康究竟有多大影响。

For this study, published in the science journal PNAS, 10 volunteers were initially³ exposed to clean air and given a placebo⁴ to check their baseline responses.

该研究结果发表在《PNAS》上，10名志愿者最初暴露在洁净空气环境中，每天服用安慰剂已测定基线反应水平。

The group then took another placebo for four weeks before being exposed to heavily polluted air from downtown Toronto, where an estimated 1,000 cars pass every hour.

随后，在他们暴露于多伦多城区一个交通繁忙街道上（每小时超过1000辆汽车驶过）的糟糕空气之前，又服用了4周的安慰剂。

The bad air was delivered to the volunteers through an "oxygen type" face mask. The experiment was then repeated, with each volunteer taking a B vitamin supplement daily -- made up of 2.5 mg of folic acid, 50 mg of vitamin B6, and 1 mg of vitamin B12.

这些糟糕的空气通过“氧气类型”面罩投递给测试者。之后实验重复多次，且每个志愿者每天服用维生素补充剂（2.5毫克叶酸、50毫克维生素B6，1毫克维生素B12）。

The researchers found that four weeks of B vitamin supplements reduced the damage of PM2.5 exposure by 28-76%.

研究人员发现，连服4周的维生素B补充剂可以把PM2.5的损害减少28-76%。

'Future studies, especially in heavily polluted areas, are urgently needed to validate⁵ our findings and ultimately develop preventive interventions⁶ using B vitamins to contain the health effects of air pollution', said one researcher.

一位研究人员表示：“迫切需要进一步的研究，尤其是在空气严重污染的地区的研究，来验证我们的发现，并最终找到使用维生素B防止空气污染对健康造成影响的预防措施。”