Abstract:
Triclosan (TCS) and triclocarban (TCC) are widely used synthetic broad-spectrum antibacterial agents that can enter the human body through the skin, gastrointestinal tract, and other pathways. More and more studies have found that exposure to TCS and TCC can affect human health, but currently, review reports on the health effects of human exposure to TCS and TCC are rare. For this purpose, this study reviewed population studies on the relationship between TCS and TCC exposure and health effects by searching the PubMed database, summarized the association between TCS and TCC exposure and health effects, and generalized the biological mechanisms. A total of 56 studies were retrieved, among which cross-sectional studies (25 studies, 44.64%) and cohort studies (25 studies, 44.64%) accounted for a relatively large proportion, while case-control studies (6 studies, 10.71%) were relatively few. Moreover, the number of TCS (54 studies) related studies was significantly more than that of TCC (7 studies). The research results revealed that TCS exposure was associated with male and female reproductive functions, fetal growth, children's behavioral development, obesity, gestational diabetes, and immune-related diseases. However, there were significant differences among different studies, suggesting that TCS exposure is a potential influencing factor for the aforementioned health issues. Due to the small number of studies, there is insufficient evidence of the relationship between TCC exposure and the vast majority of the aforementioned health effects.
In vitro and
in vitro studies as well as population studies have shown that exposure to TCS and TCC can interfere with the microbial homeostasis, the endocrine system, oxidative stress and immune function of the body, which are potential mechanisms causing adverse health effects. In the future, large-sample prospective cohort studies and
in vitro and
in vivo studies are still needed to further clarify the relationship between TCS and TCC exposure and health effects, and deeply explore the mechanism of action, providing references for clarifying the health hazards of TCS and TCC and formulating prevention and treatment measures.