Antibacterial Acts as Endocrine Disrupter

[Guest guest]

Antibacterial Acts as Endocrine Disrupter

Science News –January 2, 2007

 

Researchers find that a widely used antibacterial compound amplifies

natural hormone effects.

 

Triclocarban, an antibacterial compound widely used for about 45

years in personal-care and cleaning products such as soaps, lotions,

and sanitizing wipes, exacerbates the effects of natural

testosterone, according to a study published online November 29 in

Endocrinology (2007, DOI: 10.1210/en.2007-1057). Other known

endocrine disrupters are estrogenic, antiestrogenic, antiandrogenic,

or androgen mimics.

 

In the new study, researchers from the University of California Davis

and Yale University exposed human cells and live rats to either

triclocarban or one of a few other polychlorinated diphenyl urea

compounds, either alone or with testosterone, at levels similar to

those that can occur in people. Triclocarban amplified the effects of

testosterone, which is present in men, women, and children. In vitro

tests with human cells showed that the interaction of triclocarban

and testosterone was synergistic, including a signaling increase of

45% in one test. In rats, the combination showed additive effects of

increased mass in several accessory sex organs.

 

About 1 million pounds of triclocarban are produced for the U.S.

market every year. The antimicrobial is widespread in U.S. waterways

and persists in municipal sludge used for fertilizer. Little is known

about the health effects of long-term, multiple sources of exposure

to the antibacterial compound and its structural cousins, says study

coauthor Bill Lasley, associate director of the Center for Health and

the Environment at the University of California Davis. However, he

and his colleagues say the new evidence suggests that triclocarban

and other structurally similar substances may be playing a role in a

wide range of reproductive and developmental disorders.