Product Testing - The Great Toothpaste Challenge

Triclosan

Chemical Name: 2,4,4'-Trichloro-2-hydroxydi-phenyl ether. Other names: Microban® - when used in plastics and clothing- IrgasanDP-300, Lexol 300, Ster-Zac, Cloxifenolum, Biofresh® when used in acrylic fibers.

Update: December 2006- New research indicates that Triclosan, an antibacterial chemical used in scores of consumer products, is harmful to the hormonal system of developing frogs and, perhaps, humans.

Although triclosan and triclocarban have been used as antiseptics in soap since the 1960's, scientists only recently looked into what happens once the chemicals are flushed down the drain. The germ-fighting chemicals found in antibacterials are turning up in fish, breast milk and wastewater.

Trillions of bacteria reside in or on our skin, noses, mouths and intestines. We need them because germs help us develop a healthy immune system. But people are confusing antibacterial with antibiotic.

Under the appropriate conditions such as in a hospital, tricolsan is effective. But no current data demonstrate any extra health benefit from having antibaterial-containing cleansers in the household. In fact The Centres for Disease Control and Preventation says that antibacterial soaps are not necessary in everyday use and washing hands with ordinary soap and warm water is an effective way to ward off infections.

Americans alone spent more than $540 million on antibacterial soaps, hand cleaners and detergents in 2004 - that's more than 2.2 million kilogram or 1 million pounds of each chemical that is being flushed into our waterways and landfills. Now multiply that globally.

Triclosan has been incorporated worldwide into a wide range of consumer goods, including dish soaps, laundry soaps, cosmetics, lotions, creams, toothpaste, mouthwashes and deodorants. It is also used in the manufacturing of plastics for children's toys as well as kitchen and table utensils. Forty-five percent of all soaps on the the market contain some type of antibacterial agent and the U.S. Geological Survey has shown that triclosan and triclocarban, which mimics the thyroid hormone is present in 60 percent of the U.S. waterways investigated.

So what's the fallout?

Neither substance is very soluble in water, but both are fat-soluble and easily cross cell membranes. Once inside the cell, triclosan poisons a specific enzyme that many bacteria and fungi need for survival. As humans don't have this enzyme and it was thought that triclosan was harmless.

However, the highly specific way that triclosan kills has researchers concerned about its role in fostering antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Researchers have recently demonstrated that mutations in the bacterial gene that produces ENR can produce triclosan-resistant bacteria.

If that's not enough, the EPA registers it as a pesticide, giving it high scores as a risk to both human health and the environment. Triclosan is a chlorophenol, a class of chemicals suspected of causing cancer in humans. Externally, it can cause skin irritations and when stored in body fat, it can accumulate to toxic levels, damaging the liver, kidneys, and lungs, and can cause paralysis, sterility, suppression of immune function, brain hemorrhage, decreased fertility and sexual function, heart problems, and coma.

Employing a strong antibiotic agent such as triclosan for everyday use is of questionable value, as it takes a shotgun approach to killing all microscopic organisms while also destroying the beneficial bacteria in the environment and in our bodies. These friendly bacteria cause no harm, and often produce beneficial effects, such as aiding metabolism and inhibiting the invasion of the harmful pathogens

 

OP