Disinfectant harms the muscles

Disinfectant triclosan impairs muscle function

08/14/2012

As an antibacterial agent Triclosan is included in numerous personal care products such as soap or make-up. The health effect of the disinfectant has so far been little studied despite its widespread use. Triclosan has been suspected for some time as an allergy trigger. Now US scientists have also found a muscle-damaging effect of the disinfectant. According to the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Triclosan can also be found in numerous products in Germany.

Like the researchers around Gennady Cherednichenkoa from the University of Colorado Denver in the journal „Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences“ (PNAS) reports, the disinfectant has unfolded a fatal effect on the skeletal and cardiac muscles in their experiments. „Triclosan weakens cardiac and skeletal muscle contractility in ways that can adversely affect health, especially among vulnerable populations“, write Cherednichenkoa and colleagues.

Disinfectant causes allergies and damages the muscles
Triclosan is today in many different products from toothpaste on household cleaners to carpets and mattresses included. The use of the disinfectant has long been controversial, as Triclosan is suspected of triggering allergies. However, the negative impact on the muscles revealed by US scientists could be far more worrying. Because in experiments with mice and fish, Cherednichenkoa and colleagues proved that triclosan affects the activity of certain receptors and thus inhibits muscle function. By interfering with the molecular processes or the neuromuscular disorders, the muscles can no longer contract properly, the US researchers report.

Muscle function impaired in fish and mice
For example, experiments with fish (thick-chinks) have shown that they float much less and move more slowly after living in water for a week, burdened with concentrations of triclosan that are quite common in the environment today, reports Cherednichenkoa and colleagues. The researchers evaluated this as a clear indication that the muscle function of the fish had subsided. In mice, the disinfectant has a similar effect on the muscles unfolded.

According to the US scientists, the mice were able to claw 18 percent worse on the ground after being given a dose of the disinfectant. This grip force test is relatively common and is used to detect neuromuscular disorders. In addition to the loss of gripping power, the researchers found in anesthetized mice - 20 minutes after they were exposed to the disinfectant - a decrease in heart function by about 25 percent.

Contraction of the heart and skeletal muscles disturbed by triclosan
The impairment of cardiac function in the anesthetized mice was „dramatic“ explained the co-author of the study, Nipavan Chiamvimonvat from the Department of Cardiovascular and Internal Medicine at the University of Colorado. In laboratory experiments, the scientists have also investigated the effect of the disinfectant on human muscle cells and found that the molecular processes are also disturbed here, as a result of which, for example, the heart muscle cells could no longer contract properly. „Triclosan affects both orthograde and retrograde signaling between L-type Ca2 + and RyR channels in skeletal muscle and L-type Ca2 + entry in cardiac muscle“, which significantly weakens the cardiac and skeletal muscle contractility, reports Cherednichenkoa and colleagues.

Actual health risks from triclosan remain unclear
Although such laboratory tests on individual muscle cells are not necessarily meaningful in terms of the function of the heart as a whole, since the complex interaction of countless cells is crucial, but the laboratory experiments can be interpreted as evidence that triclosan causes clinically significant damage, the US Scientist. These indications have been confirmed in both in vitro and in vivo experiments in mice and fish.

The concentrations studied were more or less adjusted to the natural circumstances, "but the mice were injected with the disinfectant directly into the abdominal cavity," write Cherednichenkoa and colleagues. This may possibly cause a difference in the effect, since triclosan is normally absorbed through the skin, respiratory tract or mucous membranes. "Although the experiments allow conclusions to be drawn on the effect of the disinfectant, they do not provide any information on the actual endangering of humans and animals," the experts report. It therefore remains unclear for the time being which risks arise from the use of the disinfectant, even if the current studies provide clear evidence that triclosan may have negative consequences for the health, especially in sensitive individuals.

Waiver of the disinfectant triclosan required
Due to the widespread use of the disinfectant, special caution is required. Residues of triclosan have already been detected in human urine, blood and breast milk, among others. Due to the potential effect as an allergy trigger and the now discovered evidence of impairment of the heart and skeletal muscles, the use of the disinfectant should be fundamentally reconsidered. Added to this is the risk of the formation of resistant bacteria, by the constant contact with low doses of triclosan in everyday life. The manufacturers are therefore called upon to avoid the use of the disinfectant as possible. Most experts agree that in the future Triclosan will be dispensed with in personal care products, textiles and detergents. Whether this works on a voluntary basis or the legislature has to intervene, remains open for the time being.

The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) initially did not want to comment on the study results. However, Triclosan can also be found in some articles in Germany, said a spokesman for the institute. Only in foodstuffs and in materials that come into direct contact with food, the substance may no longer be used in the EU since 2010. (Fp)

Read about:
Spring cleaning: detergents make you ill
Corrosive decalcifiers irritate mucous membranes
Poisoning a significant threat to children

Picture: Dr. Klaus-Uwe Gerhardt