Effects of triclosan in breast milk on the infant fecal microbiome

Abstract

Triclosan is frequently used for its antimicrobial properties and has been detected in human serum, urine, and breast milk. Animal and molecular studies have shown that triclosan exerts a wide range of adverse health effects at both high (ppm) and low (ppb) concentrations. Since triclosan is of growing concern to human and environmental health, there is a need to improve extraction procedures and to study additional effects from triclosan exposure. In this study, we have improved triclosan extraction from breast milk by using salt (MgSO) to reduce emulsion formation and increase water polarity and water (∼80%) to enhance the overall extraction efficiency (∼3.5 fold). This extraction method was applied to breast milk samples collected from donors who i) recorded their use of triclosan-containing personal care products and ii) provided matching infant stool samples. Of the participants who had detectable amounts of triclosan in their breast milk, nine (75%) of them reported daily use of triclosan-containing personal care products. Levels of triclosan in breast milk were compared to the donor's infant's fecal microbiome. We found that the bacterial diversity in the fecal microbiome of the infants exposed to breast milk with detectable triclosan levels differed compared to their peers exposed to milk containing non-detectable amounts. This finding implies that exogenous chemicals are impacting microbiome diversity.

Triclosan and triclocarban exposure, infectious disease symptoms and antibiotic prescription in infants—A community-based randomized intervention

“…We believe it unlikely that TCs would directly decrease infection rates by altering the babies' microbial flora. Although this possibility does exist [28], in adults, at much higher levels of exposure, TC-containing wash products have been found to have no effect on the microbiome of the gut or the mouth [29]. The use of TCs in household cleaning products, however, may have a substantial effect on environmental microbes, by decreasing their overall abundance and possibly restricting their variation [30].…”

Embracing microbes in exposure science

“…They reported thatindependent of treatment -"infants with higher triclosan levels also showed an enrichment of Proteobacteria species." Bever et al [90] studied triclosan in breast milk in relation to personal care product use by mothers. They reported that "bacterial diversity in the fecal microbiome of the infants exposed to breast milk with detectable triclosan levels differed compared to their peers exposed to milk containing non-detectable amounts."…”

Occurrence of selected endocrine disrupting compounds in the eastern cape province of South Africa

“…Triclosan is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial, present as one of the main components in many pharmaceuticals, personal care products, household products such as beddings, dish-washing products and sporting items from where it gets into the environment through wastewater (Dhillon et al 2015). Triclosan and its metabolites had been isolated in human fluids including breast milk (Bever et al 2018). Triclosan has been to shown to induce overall depression of the central nervous system in mice, decrease sperm count in male rats, and malformations in foetal development (James et al 2010;Dhillon et al 2015).…”