This bottle of antibacterial soap contains triclosan, though it is being phased out of many products because of health concerns. (Kiichiro Sato / Associated Press)
這瓶抗菌肥皂含有三氯生，但由於健康問題，它正在逐步被淘汰(Kiichiro Sato / Associated Press)
Triclosan, an antimicrobial agent found in toys, toothpaste, cosmetics and more than 2,000 other consumer products, has been found to wreak havoc on the guts of mice whose blood concentrations of the compound are roughly equivalent to a typical level for humans.
在玩具，牙膏，化妝品和超過2000種其他消費品中發現的抗菌劑三氯生，已經被發現對老鼠的內臟造成嚴重破壞，這些老鼠血液中這種化合物的濃度大致相當於人類的正常水平。
One group of mice who were fed a diet laced with triclosan for three weeks ended up with low-grade inflammation of the colon and saw their garden of gut microbes become notably depleted. When researchers chemically induced inflammatory bowel disease in another group of mice, those exposed to real-world levels of triclosan suffered increased damage to the colon and more severe symptoms of colitis than did mice who weren't fed the chemical.
一組被餵食了三周的含有三氯生飲食的老鼠，其結腸發生低度炎症並觀察到它們的腸道微生物菌群明顯減少。當研究人員在另一組老鼠身上用化學方式誘導炎症性腸病時，與沒有被餵食化學物質的老鼠相比，那些接觸到真實世界中三氯生水平的老鼠遭受的結腸損傷增大，結腸炎症狀更嚴重。
Finally, in mice made to develop colon cancer, those exposed to triclosan at normal human levels developed more and larger tumors, fueled by the activation of genes known to drive the cancer's growth. In addition, these mice were slightly more likely to die of colon cancer than their counterparts whose diets and environments were triclosan-free. However, the difference was too small for scientists to say it was more than a statistical fluke.
最後，在患有結腸癌的小鼠中，那些在正常人類水平上接觸到三氯生的老鼠患上了越來越大的腫瘤，這是由已知的導致癌症生長的基因的激活所推動的。此外，這些老鼠死於結腸癌的機率比其飲食和環境無三氯生的同類老鼠更略高。然而，科學家們認為這種差異太小了，不足以說明這不只是統計上的巧合。
The findings were published this week in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
研究結果本周在《科學轉化醫學》雜誌上發表。
The study authors, led by Haixia Yang, a postdoctoral food science researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, discovered that the guts of triclosan-fed mice were particularly depleted of Bifidobacterium, a strain that has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects.
由麻薩諸塞州阿默斯特大學博士後食品科學研究員Haixia Yang領導的研究作者們發現，三氯生餵養的老鼠的腸道中，雙歧桿菌的含量明顯減少，雙歧桿菌是一種具有抗炎作用的菌株。
By changing the gut's microbiotic population and activating genes that govern inflammation and cancer growth, triclosan "could cause adverse effects on colonic inflammation and colon cancer," Yang and her colleagues wrote. "Further studies are urgently needed to better characterize the effects of [triclosan] exposure on gut health to establish science-based policies for the regulation of this antimicrobial compound in consumer products."
Yang和她的同事寫道，通過改變腸道的微生物數量並激活控制炎症和癌症生長的基因，三氯生"可能對結腸炎症和結腸癌造成不良影響"。 "迫切需要進一步的研究，以更好地描述[三氯生]暴露對腸道健康的影響，以建立基於科學的政策，以規範消費品中這種抗菌化合物。"
Previous research has demonstrated triclosan's toxicity at doses that would be unusually high for humans, but the new study is among the first to rigorously explore the compound's safety at more typical levels of exposure.
以前的研究已經證明三氯生在劑量上的毒性對於人類而言是非常高的，但是這項新研究是首次在更典型的暴露水平下嚴格探索三氯生的安全性。
Triclosan used to be widely used in antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizers marketed to consumers. But the Food & Drug Administration ordered it removed from soaps and hand sanitizers marketed to consumers in 2016. Last December, the FDA declared triclosan and 24 other antimicrobial compounds to be "not generally recognized as safe and effective" for antiseptic products intended for use in healthcare settings as well.
三氯生曾被廣泛用於面向消費者的抗菌肥皂和洗手液。但美國食品和藥物管理局在2016年下令將其從面向消費者的肥皂和洗手液中去除。去年12月，FDA宣布三氯生和其他24種抗菌化合物對用於醫療保健環境的抗菌產品"不被普遍認為是安全有效的"。
The FDA's findings gave the makers of antiseptic soaps, rubs and skin preparations until the end of this year to remove triclosan and the other antimicrobial compounds from their products, and most have already done so. But it remains ubiquitous on the U.S. market - an ingredient intended to reduce bacterial contamination of cosmetics, yoga mats and other athletic clothes and gear, children's toys, kitchenware, and even building materials such as carpeting and paint.
美國食品和藥物管理局的調查結果顯示，直到今年年底，抗菌皂、洗面奶和皮膚製劑的製造商們都在從其產品中除去三氯生和其他抗菌化合物，而且大多數已經這樣做了。但它仍然在美國市場上無處不在 - 這是一種旨在減少化妝品，瑜伽墊和其他運動服裝和裝備，兒童玩具，廚具，甚至建築材料（如地毯和油漆）的細菌汙染的成分。
It would fall to the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate the use of triclosan and related antimicrobial agents in consumer goods where no health benefit to the consumer is claimed. Under EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, the agency has been focused on rolling back regulations rather than expanding them.
環境保護署將負責規範在消費品中使用對消費者的健康沒有益處的三氯生和相關抗菌劑。在美國環保署署長Scott Pruitt的領導下，環保署一直專注於縮減監管，而不是擴大監管範圍。
Meanwhile, triclosan is routinely still used in many toothpastes - with the FDA's blessing - since it has been found to prevent gingivitis. Researchers have found evidence it settles and accumulates in household dust, extending humans' exposure.
與此同時，三氯生常在許多牙膏中仍被經常使用 - 在食品和藥物管理局的許可下 - 因為它被發現可以預防牙齦炎。研究人員已經發現證據表明它在家庭灰塵中沉澱和積累，從而延長了人類的暴露時間。
Triclosan appears to be readily absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract. While humans clear most of it quickly, there is growing evidence that traces of the compound accumulate. And its health effects have come under mounting suspicion.
三氯生似乎容易被胃腸道吸收。儘管人類能夠快速清除其中的大部分物質，但越來越多的證據表明，這種化合物的痕跡在積累。它對健康的影響已經受到越來越多的質疑。
At high doses, triclosan is associated with a decrease in the levels of some thyroid hormones, at least in animals. Other studies have raised concern that exposure to triclosan increases the likelihood that bacteria will develop resistance to antibiotics. Researchers are also exploring whether long-term triclosan exposure increases risk for skin cancer.
在高劑量時，三氯生與某些甲狀腺激素水平降低有關，至少在動物中是這樣的。其他研究已經引起人們的關注，接觸三氯生會增加細菌對抗生素產生抗藥性的可能性。研究人員還在探討長期接觸三氯生是否會增加皮膚癌的風險。
Last June, 200 scientists and medical professionals signed the Florence statement, calling triclosan and a related agent, triclocarban, "environmentally persistent endocrine disruptors that bioaccumulate in and are toxic to aquatic and other organisms." The group called for "greater transparency" in their use, adding that "they should only be used when they provide an evidence-based health benefit."
去年6月，200名科學家和醫學專家籤署了佛羅倫斯聲明，稱三氯生及其相關物質三氯卡班是"生物積累在體內的、對水生和其他有機體有毒的、對環境有持久性的內分泌幹擾物"。"該組織呼籲 "更大的透明度"使用它們，並補充說："只有當它們提供有證據的健康效益時才能使用它們。"
Northwestern University environmental engineer Erica Marie Hartmann, who was not involved in the new study, said the work was "very thorough."
西北大學環境工程師Erica Marie Hartmann未參與這項新研究，但表示這項工作"非常全面"。
"These researchers have drilled down and said, 'We think this adverse effect is mediated by gut microbiome,'" she said.
"這些研究人員深入研究後說，'我們認為這種不良影響是由腸道微菌群介導的'，"她說。
Since the FDA has called its routine use into question, conducting trials of long-term human exposure to triclosan might be ethically problematic, Hartmann added.
Hartmann補充說，由於美國食品和藥物管理局對其日常使用提出了質疑，對長期接觸三氯生的人進行試驗可能在倫理上存在問題。
"But I think it's fair to say, it's possible to draw analogies," she said. "Even at very low levels of exposure, we still see these adverse health outcomes. … This doesn't make me feel any more comfortable about triclosan in toothpaste."
"但我認為公平地說，有可能進行類比，"她說。 "即使在很低的暴露水平下，我們仍然會看到這些不利的健康結果.這不再讓我對牙膏中三氯生感到舒服。"
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