- Author: GREAT MASTER VIKRANT ROHIN
- Date: MAY 3, 2023
Triclosan is a chemical, antibacterial, and antifungal agent found in a variety of consumer products, including toothpaste, soaps, detergents, toys, clothing, kitchenware, furniture, cosmetics, toiletries, and surgical cleaning treatments. Triclosan was developed in 1966. since its original use in hospital settings in 1972, has been incorporated into a variety of consumer products.
ट्राईक्लोसन एक रासायनिक, जीवाणुरोधी और एंटिफंगल एजेंट है जो टूथपेस्ट, साबुन, डिटर्जेंट, खिलौने, कपड़े, बरतन, फर्नीचर, सौंदर्य प्रसाधन, प्रसाधन सामग्री और सर्जिकल सफाई उपचार सहित विभिन्न प्रकार के उपभोक्ता उत्पादों में पाया जाता है। ट्राईक्लोसन को 1966 में विकसित किया गया था। 1972 में अस्पताल की सेटिंग में इसके मूल उपयोग के बाद से इसे विभिन्न प्रकार के उपभोक्ता उत्पादों में शामिल किया गया है।
REGULATIONS
That is regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
- Recently, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) reviewed the evidence against Triclosan and imposed a partial ban on its use.
- Triclosan is used in food storage containers although this use is banned in the European Union since 2010. Veterinary use as a biocidal product in the EU is governed by the Biocidal Products Directive.
- However, India lacks any such regulation so far on the use of Triclosan-laced products. Multiple products in India use triclosan and triclocarban, including some popular soaps and hand-washes such as Hindustan Unilever’s Lifebuoy, ITC’s Savlon, Wipro’s Santoor, and Godrej’s Cinthol.
DISEASE
Studies have increasingly linked triclosan to numerous adverse health effects, ranging from skin irritation to hormone disruption, interference with muscle function, and contribution to antibacterial resistance.
DEVELOP BREAST CANCER
As a xenoestrogen, triclosan can displace estradiol from its receptors and potentially increase exposure to estradiol, which has been a risk factor identified for the DEVELOPMENT OF BREAST CANCER. This mechanism also has been shown to play a role in the development of ovarian cancer in in vitro studies
Triclosan is classified as an endocrine disruptor because of its ability to interfere with the estrogen (female hormone), androgen (male hormone), and thyroid systems of the body
Estradiol serves several purposes in the female body. Its primary role is to mature and then sustain the reproductive system. Increased estradiol levels during the menstrual cycle cause egg maturation and release, as well as uterine lining thickening, to allow a fertilized egg to implant.
Estradiol is responsible for the development of secondary sexual characteristics or bodily features that appear during puberty. These include breast development, changes in body shape, bone growth, and fat deposition. Estrogen helps maintain pregnancy and stimulates fetal maturation.
In large clinical trials of women with heavy menstrual bleeding, the estradiol valerate and dienogest pill decreased blood loss volume by a median of 81%. Women with heavy menstrual bleeding treated with this contraceptive pill can expect a significant reduction in bleeding after just one cycle of use.
AFFECT FERTILITY:
Recently, TCS has been suspected to be a reproductive toxicant. Animal studies suggest that TCS exposure can decrease the weights of the testes, sex organs, and sperm density (Kumar et al. 2008). It adversely affects the male reproductive system by disrupting steroidogenesis
This compound reduces the activity of the enzyme adenylyl cyclase. This reduction causes drop-down of cAMP levels due to which the enzymatic conversion of cholesterol into testosterone gets reduced. Ultimately, testosterone synthesis gets suppressed.
DISTURB THYROID HORMONE
Recent studies have also found that Triclosan interferes with the body’s THYROID HORMONE metabolism According to animal studies, high levels of the ingredient may cause a decrease in certain thyroid hormones.
Thyroid hormone is the hormone that controls your body’s metabolism, the process in which your body transforms the food you eat into energy. The two main hormones your thyroid releases — thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) — collectively make up thyroid hormone.
TODAY, WOMEN HAVE MOST OF THE THYROID ISSUES DUE TO THIS AGENT.
- CAUSE WEIGHT GAIN:
Exposure to triclosan (TCS) is ubiquitous in children. We assessed the associations of TCS exposure with obesity in 7-year-old children. TCS was positively associated with child BMI z-score and body fat percentage. TCS was associated with an increased risk for abdominal obesity.
- DISRUPTS ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
Triclosan is a chemical that disrupts the endocrine system. That is, it can harm your endocrine system, causing problems with hormone function.
- IMPACT ON YOUR LIVER
It has a negative impact on your liver. Triclosan accelerated the development of fatty liver, fibrosis, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
- CIRRHOSIS AND CANCER.
In humans, NAFLD is an increasingly common condition that can lead to liver Cirrhosis And Cancer.
A Limit Of 0.3% Concentration Of Triclosan In Toothpaste, Hand Soaps, Body Soaps/shower Gels, And Deodorant Sticks Is Considered Safe, But People Who Use Many Different Cosmetics Containing Triclosan, Could End Up Being Exposed To Excessive And Unsafe Amounts.
What is a safe alternative to triclosan? Compatible with most personal care ingredients, Salibact is effective in a pH range of 5-8 and has a use level of 0.05-0.15%. It has applications in soaps and detergents, household disinfectants, oral care, hair care, and skincare products.
A 2006 study recommended showering with 2% triclosan as a regimen in surgical units to rid patients’ skin of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
HOW POTENT IS TRICLOSAN?
Studies show that washing your hands with soap and water can prevent up to 40% of diarrhoea and 25% of pneumonia cases. These are particularly lethal to children in the Third World (where, sadly, few people wash their hands). The jury is out on whether triclosan is effective. While triclosan does kill bacteria, studies have shown that if you wash your hands properly, regular soap works just as well as antibacterial soap in reducing infections. Of course, normal hand-washing removes the soap soon after it is applied, giving the antibacterial agent only a few seconds to work.
A study conducted in Pakistan discovered no statistically significant difference in diarrhoea between households that used antibacterial soap and those that used plain soap. This could be due to the fact that triclosan kills some gram-positive bacteria but not gram-negative bacteria, viruses, or parasites. (This is not surprising given that antibacterial agents are not expected to work against viruses).
ARE THERE ANY OTHER POTENTIAL ISSUES?
A significant amount of triclosan ends up in wastewater. This could be harmful to fish and marine invertebrates, while chlorine, a substance commonly used to make water safe to drink, reacts with triclosan to form chloroform, a potential carcinogen.
HOW TRICLOSAN WORKS
- L. M. McMurry, M. Oethinger and S. B. Levy, Nature, (1998), 394, 531-532 (mechanism of action)
- C. W. Levy, A. Roujeinikova, S. Sedelnikova, P. J. Baker, A.R. Stuitje, A. R. Slabas, D. W. Rice and J. B. Rafferty, Nature, (1999), 398, 383-384. (structure of E. coli enoyl reductase-NAD1-triclosan complex)
- X. Qiu, C. A. Janson, R. I. Court, M. G. Smyth, D. J. Payne and S. S. Abdel-Meguid, Protein Science, (1999) 8 2529–2532. (structure of E. coli enoyl reductase-NAD1-triclosan complex)
- R. J. Heath J. R. Rubin, D. R. Holland, E. Zhang, M. E. Snow and C. O. Rock, J. Biol. Chem., (1999) 274, 11110–11114 (structure of FabI-NAD+-triclosan complex)
Which of the following contains “triclosan,” which is considered harmful when exposed to high levels for an extended period of time?
(a) Fruit ripening agents (b) Reused plastic containers (c) Toiletries
ANSWER——
