TRICLOSAN AND YOUR HEART

Triclosan is a chemical used in many products especially mouthwash toothpaste and soap but also in cleaners and lipstick etc.
It combines with the chlorine in water to form Chloroform which is a carcinogen. However the bad news for us is that it affects the heart muscle and reduces its strength. Even in very low exposure rates that humans experience in everyday life.I have checked all my products and cut my exposure by 75%. There does seem to be some improvement in the strength of my pulse. There is a great deal of information about al this on the internet and I saw an article in our national paper 2 days ago. Worth avoiding. You cant be too careful. Peter

8 Comments

not chloroform

by polrbear - 2012-08-17 08:08:13

The structure of triclosan includes two aromatic (benzene-like) rings that are very stable,with no alkyl group, chlorinated or not, branching off of it. These are highly stable and won't readily break down to supply the carbon to produce chloroform. However, they are only a small substitution off of dioxins, which have their own concerns and are known possibilities of triclosan reacting with chlorinating compounds that can be found in wastewater and drinking water treatment. These have their own environemtnal concerns.

so not really chloroform

by polrbear - 2012-08-17 08:08:26

Ian,

Chloroform served as an incidental finding in your quoted article under conditions not typically realized in the situation (just occasionally encountered)--not a major product. It noted that 2, 4, 6-trichlorophenol was the primary result. Chlorine is not a stable molecule in the presence of water until you have very large amounts (until saturated, chlorine in the presence of water creates up to a ~3% solution of hydrochloric acid and hypochlorous acid), so "an excess of free chlorine" is not a stable, long-term situation that will result in appreciable amounts of the secondary product (chloroform).

The irony of this is that the chloroform is less concerning to me, with a toxicology background, than most of the other products resulting from this, according to the study you cited. Chlorophenols are carcinogens as well.

poirbear..yes chloroform

by IAN MC - 2012-08-17 08:08:36

I believe pete was right

The study which I have pasted below suggests that chloroform can indeed be formed. Have further studies proved that this is not the case ?

Ian


Triclosan + Chlorinated Water = Chloroform


Formation of chloroform and chlorinated organics by free-chlorine-mediated oxidation of triclosan.
Environ Sci Technol. 2005 May 1;39(9):3176-85
Rule KL, Ebbett VR, Vikesland PJ., Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 418 Durham Hall, Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24060-0361, USA.

The widely used antimicrobial agent triclosan (5-chloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)phenol) readily reacts with free chlorine under drinking water treatment conditions. Overall second-order kinetics were observed, first-order in free chlorine and first-order in triclosan. Over the pH range of 4-11.5, the kinetics were pH sensitive as a result of the pH dependent speciation of both triclosan and free chlorine. Using a Marquardt-Levenberg routine, it was determined that this pH effect indicates that the dominant reaction in this system is between the ionized phenolate form of triclosan and hypochlorous acid (HOCl). The overall second-order rate coefficient was determined to be kArO- = 5.40 (+/- 1.82) x 10(3) M(-1) s(-1). Three chlorophenoxyphenols and two chlorophenols were identified by gas chromatographic-mass spectroscopic analysis. The chlorophenoxyphenol compounds include two monochlorinated triclosan derivatives (5,6-dichloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoy)phenol and 4,5-dichloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)phenol) and one dichlorinated derivative (4,5,6-trichloro-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)phenol); these species form via bimolecular electrophilic substitution of triclosan. 2,4-Dichlorophenol was detected under all reaction conditions and forms via ether cleavage of triclosan. In experiments with excess free chlorine, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol was formed via electrophilic substitution of 2,4-dichlorophenol. Chloroform formation was observed when an excess of free chlorine was present. A Hammett-type linear free-energy relationship (LFER) using Brown-Okamoto parameters (sigma+) was established to correlate the reactivity of HOCI and the phenolate forms of triclosan and other chlorophenols (log kArO- = -(10.7 +/- 2.2)Sigmasigma(+)o,m,p + 4.43). This LFER was used to obtain estimates of rate coefficients describing the reactivity of the intermediates 5,6-dichloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoy)phenol (kArO- approximately equal to 6 x 10(2)), 4,5-dichloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)phenol (kArO- approximately equal to 3 x 10(2)), and 4,5,6-trichloro-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)phenol (kArO- approximately equal to 4 x 10(1)).

Bottled water

by IAN MC - 2012-08-18 02:08:11

Hi Jan

I never touch the stuff myself, except at airport departures where you don't have any choice. l guess they have to disinfect bottled water with something, either UV light or chlorine probably . I don't know if the bottle label tells you anything.

But even if you used unchlorinated water to clean your teeth you would still be swallowing some of the Triclosan.

I'm not certain what that would do to you once you have swallowed it; our toxicology friend probably knows about how triclosan is metabolised etc

I don't think Triclosan goes by any other name on labels but anything is possible .

I've got a theory that a nice big glass of cold white wine makes Triclosan absolutely safe,,,, no published evidence...but I'm going to give it a go right now !

Cheers

Ian

Triclosan

by sputnick - 2012-08-18 02:08:18

Hi Ian,
methinks you are being a tad modest! I never had any interest in science when I was younger, but now find the subject fascinating. I think that may be to do with a programme a couple o years ago with Jim al-Khalel (or sumat like that) who made it relevant to the world around. I forget what it was called. My husband is the intellectual one in our family, I'm the one with the common sense n nouse!
I checked my colgate sensitive pro relief toothpaste n it has no mention of Triclosan in it.Does it go by any other name? If not you should be ok with that.
Just out of curiosity, if you used bottled water to brush your teeth, would that make it ok? I presume bottled water isn't chlorinated. Or am I wrong bout that?
Jan

Merlot

by sputnick - 2012-08-18 03:08:54

I will take your educated guess on reducing the danger of Triclosan with a nice glass (or 3) of Merlot.
Never touch bottled water either, it's too expensive n would rather spend the money on a nice box of chokkies!
Hopefully polrbear will know if there is the same effect without the reaction with chlorine.
Presumably you would need to have ingested it over a long period of time, that seems to be the case with most of these warnings when you read into them properly, or have I got that wrong polrbear? Is it a chemical that has been around and added to things for a while, or a pretty recent one?
Jan

Flipping 'eck!

by sputnick - 2012-08-18 11:08:40

I am mightily impressed by you two! It must be brilliant to understand complex studies like that. It is scary sometimes with all these findings on everyday foods n household items. You want to keep healthy n protect yourself from harmful substances, but it seems like you need a degree at least in chemistry or microbiology or whatever to do it.
I shall have to check my cupboards to see what I have in them with this Triclosan in!

Jan

Sputnick

by IAN MC - 2012-08-18 12:08:48


I wouldn't be too impressed, not by me anyway ! I do have a degree in chemistry but I've forgotten most of it ...(and didn't really understand it in the first place)

Poirbear is a toxicologist and is the person to listen to. If he has concerns about Triclosan then I listen !

I found only one product containing it in my bathroom cabinet.. Colgate Total toothpaste. I won't be buying it again.

Ian

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