Thoughts on Triclosan?

[gahcase21]

Should I quit using my soap?
Chemical widely used in antibacterial hand soaps may impair muscle function

 

[Patrick Arnold]

it may also make ur steroids more potent

Chemosphere. 2010 Nov;81(10):1245-52. Epub 2010 Oct 12.
[h=1]Some flame retardants and the antimicrobials triclosan and triclocarban enhance the androgenic activity in vitro.[/h]Christen V, Crettaz P, Oberli-Schrämmli A, Fent K.
[h=3]Source[/h]University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, School of Life Sciences, Gründenstrasse 40, CH-4132 Muttenz, Switzerland.

[h=3]Abstract[/h]Contaminants including flame retardants, antimicrobial agents and phthalates, occurring as residues in human tissues were associated with altered endocrine function. In our study we analysed the flame retardants tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), hexabromocyclodecane (HBCD), penta-bromodiphenylether (BDE-100) and hexa-BDE (BDE-155), the antimicrobial compounds triclosan (TCS) and triclocarban (TCC) and eight phthalates for their androgenic and antiandrogenic activity in vitro in the MDA-kb2 cell line. No or only weak androgenic activity was observed for all the tested compounds. TBBPA showed weak antiandrogenic activity, which was demonstrated for the first time. The flame retardants HBCD, BDE-100 and BDE-155 enhanced the dihydrotestosterone-dependent activation of androgen receptor-responsive gene expression but exhibited little or no agonistic activity. The enhancement reached 150%, which was similar to the antimicrobials (TCS up to 180%, and TCC up to 130%). This enhancement of androgenic activity represents a novel mode of action of the endocrine activity of flame retardants. In contrast, most phthalates showed antiandrogenic activity. Butylbenzyl phthalate (BBP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and diethyl phthalate (DEP) showed strong antiandrogenicity, whereas the action of diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), dipentyl phthalate (DPP), dimethyl phthalate (DMP), and the DEHP metabolite monoethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP) was lower. Our in vitro study demonstrates for the first time a weak antiandrogenic activity of TBBPA, and a significant enhancement of the androgenic activity of HBCD, BDE-100 and BDE-155, which represents a novel mechanism of hormonal activity of flame retardants.

 

[gahcase21]

If only I could use steroids. Should we stay away from this stuff or just not really worry about it?

 

[Patrick Arnold]

its kinda hard to stay away from it since its in products all over the place

maybe if you have cuts and abrasions on your hands you should use another soap. other than that i cant see much of it getting into your system if you rinse well.

if it really were that bad i think people would be noticing issues

 

[Patrick Arnold]

One of the co-authors claims there is strong evidence (from animal models) that tricoslan could have harmful effects at current levels of exposure... It's not uncommon that authors exaggerate after such 'ground-breaking' studies so I'd love to see that data.

imagine the class action lawsuits if this was confirmed

 

[Patrick Arnold]

Would their be an actual case though?

I supposethere was no evidence of any harmful effects of this particular compound previously. So unless these soap companies were suppressing/ignoring/hiding any data I don't believe it's fair to hold them accountable. OTOH you could make the case they should do sufficient safety research before bringing the compound to the market in the first place. But this is not my area of expertise.

u dont have to have them suppressing evidence of harm for a civil suit (a criminal suit of course is different). u simply can accuse them of lack of due diligence in their safety evaluations.

fair? depends on the case.

companies have to have some motivation to be as thorough as they can in their safety evaluations and the fear of being sued if their product hurts someone is motivation

 

[amateurfreak]

I'd be more worried about the fact most bacteria have become resistant to triclosan over the years and most likely have passed this resistance on to other sp I believe some have even developed pumps to

 

[amateurfreak]

pass it through the membrane without causing harm to the microorganism.