Potential Developmental and Reproductive Impacts of Triclocarban: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Triclocarban (TCC) is an antimicrobial agent used in personal care products. Although frequently studied with another antimicrobial, triclosan, it is not as well researched, and there are very few reviews of the biological activity of TCC. TCC has been shown to be a possible endocrine disruptor, acting by enhancing the activity of endogenous hormones. TCC has been banned in the US for certain applications; however, many human populations, in and outside the US, exhibit exposure to TCC. Because of the concern of the health effects of TCC, we conducted a scoping review in order to map the current body of literature on the endocrine, reproductive, and developmental effects of TCC. The aim of this scoping review was to identify possible endpoints for future systematic review and to make recommendations for future research. A search of the literature until August 2017 yielded 32 relevant studies in humans, rodents, fish, invertebrates, and in vitro. Based on the robustness of the literature in all three evidence streams (human, animal, and in vitro), we identified three endpoints for possible systematic review: estrogenic activity, androgenic activity, and offspring growth. In this review, we describe the body of evidence and make recommendations for future research.

The associations between prenatal exposure to triclocarban, phenols and parabens with gestational age and birth weight in northern Puerto Rico

“…This points to the variability of exposure to triclocarban worldwide. Our findings and previous studies suggest an association between triclocarban and birth outcomes (Rochester et al, 2017). Therefore, additional studies will be useful to better understand these associations and potential mechanisms of action.…”

“…Our cohort, on the other hand, had a median of 2.3 μg/L and a 75 th percentile of 26.8 μg/L. Similarly, a recent review reported a relatively low detection (4-25%) of urinary triclocarban in Canada, Greece and Denmark (Rochester et al, 2017). This points to the variability of exposure to triclocarban worldwide.…”

Correlates of exposure to phenols, parabens, and triclocarban in the Study of Environment, Lifestyle and Fibroids

“…48, 52, 53 Both are non-persistent compounds with triclosan having a urinary half-life of approximately 11 hours and triclocarban having a urinary half-life of 10–28 hours. 57–59 Urinary concentrations of triclosan were similar among men and women and higher among non-Hispanic Whites than non-Hispanic Blacks in NHANES 2003–2004. 60 In NHANES 2013–2014, urinary concentrations of triclocarban were too low for the calculation of the median or geometric mean among women, men, or non-Hispanic Whites, but, among non-Hispanic Blacks, the median concentration of triclocarban was 0.17 μg/g creatinine.…”

In utero and lactational exposure to triclocarban: reproductive effects on female rat offspring

“…Some reports suggest that this compound is a significant environmental contaminant, as it is not completely removed by wastewater treatment and accumulates in sludge and biosolid-amended soils (Chen et al, 2011;Zhao et al, 2010). Despite TCC having been widely used for 50 years, only recently have its ED properties been raised (Rochester, Bolden, Pelch, & Kwiatkowski, 2017). Several studies have reported that TCC enhances androgen action in vitro and in vivo, without exhibiting agonistic activity itself (Ahn et al, 2008;Chen et al, 2008;Christen, Crettaz, Oberli-Schrämmli, & Fent, 2010;Duleba et al, 2011;Kolšek, Dolenc, Gobec, & Mlinaric, 2014).…”