The latest research paper, written by academics from the University of Chicago, focused on the lesser-known effects of triclosan exposure on the bacteria in people’s guts.
Disturbing the human microbiome has been “linked to a wide array of diseases and metabolic disorders, including obesity, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and behavioral and metabolic disorders,†wrote the paper’s authors, Alyson L Yee and Jack A Gilbert.
Yee and Gilbert examined conflicting research on just how the chemical impacts gut microbiomes. Studies using zebrafish and fathead minnows found that triclosan changed gut bacteria, but that the microbiomes recovered once exposure to the chemical was stopped. However, another study on biofilms in rivers found that the gut remained altered even after triclosan was removed.
To test the chemical’s effect in humans, researchers from Stanford and Cornell universities gave seven volunteers triclosan-containing products, such as toothpaste and liquid soap, to use for four months. After that period, the same volunteers were switched to products without triclosan. The volunteers were compared with a second group who first used the non-triclosan products, then changed to those containing triclosan.
The results showed that more triclosan was found in the urine of all the participants during the periods when they were using triclosan-containing products.
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