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Phenols and parabens are used in a multitude of consumer products resulting in ubiquitous human exposure. Animal and in vitro studies suggest that exposure to these compounds may be related to a number of adverse health outcomes, as well as potential mediators such as oxidative stress and inflammation. We examined urinary phenol (bisphenol A (BPA), triclosan (TCS), benzophenone-3 (BP-3), 2,4-dichlorophenol (24-DCP), 2,5-dichlorophenol (25-DCP)) and paraben (butyl paraben (B-PB), methyl paraben (M-PB), propyl paraben (P-PB)) concentrations measured three times during pregnancy in relation to markers of oxidative stress and inflammation among participants in the Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats (PROTECT) project. Serum markers of inflammation (c-reactive protein (CRP), IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)) were measured twice during pregnancy ( n = 105 subjects, 187 measurements) and urinary markers of oxidative stress (8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (OHdG) and isoprostane) were measured three times during pregnancy ( n = 54 subjects, 146 measurements). We used linear mixed models to assess relationships between natural log-transformed exposure and outcome biomarkers while accounting for within individual correlation across study visits. After adjustment for urinary specific gravity, study visit, maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, and maternal education, an interquartile range (IQR) increase in urinary BPA was associated with 21% higher OHdG ( p = 0.001) and 29% higher isoprostane ( p = 0.0002), indicating increased oxidative stress. The adjusted increase in isoprostane per IQR increase in marker of exposure was 17% for BP-3, 27% for B-PB, and 20% for P-PB (all p < 0.05). An IQR increase in triclosan (TCS) was associated with 31% higher serum concentrations of IL-6 ( p = 0.007), a pro-inflammatory cytokine. In contrast, IQR increases in BP-3 and B-PB were significantly associated with 16% and 18% lower CRP, a measure of systemic inflammation. Our findings suggest that exposure to BPA, select parabens, and TCS during pregnancy may be related to oxidative stress and inflammation, potential mechanisms by which exposure to these compounds may influence birth outcomes and other adverse health effects, but additional research is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed a fast, selective and sensitive on-line LC/LC–MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of nine parabens and seven environmental phenols in urine. Parabens are widely used as antimicrobial preservatives. Bisphenol A, triclosan, triclocarban, 2-phenylphenol, and benzophenones are used inter alia in disinfectants, sunscreens and in polymers. Some of these substances are suspected endocrine disruptors. Limits of quantification and analytical quality criteria fully met the needs for determining exposure levels occurring in the general population. We analyzed 157 spot urine samples from the general German population (59 females, 39 males and 59 children). For the parabens, we found methyl, ethyl and n -propyl paraben with high detection rates (77–98%), followed by n -butyl (36%), iso -butyl (17%), iso -propyl (3%) and benzyl paraben (3%). We detected no pentyl and heptyl paraben. Urinary concentrations were highest for methyl paraben (median 24.5 μg/L; 95th percentile 379 μg/L) followed by ethyl (1.4 μg/L; 35.2 μg/L) and n -propyl paraben (1.2 μg/L; 68.1 μg/L). Other environmental phenols with high detection rates were BPA (95%), triclosan (45%) and benzophenone 1 and 3 (26%). For most of the parabens/environmental phenols we found higher urinary levels in females than in males or children, probably due to differences in (personal care) product use. However, high levels (in the mg/L range) were also observed in children. Exposure to the above substances is occurring worldwide. Differences between countries do seem to exist and might be caused by different product compositions or different use habits. Human metabolism data is urgently needed to extrapolate from urinary biomarker levels to doses actually taken up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Bisphenol A (BPA), triclosan (TCS), benzophenone-3 (BP-3), dichoro- and phenyl phenols are industrial chemicals present in numerous consumer products such as polycarbonate plastics, preservatives in personal care products, sun screens, pesticides and fungicides, respectively, and they are all suspected endocrine disrupters. In this study the urinary excretion of eight phenols in Danish children recruited from the general population were investigated. One 24h urine and two consecutive first morning samples were collected from each of 129 healthy Danish children and adolescents (6–21 years). The concentrations of urinary phenols were analyzed by a new on-line TurboFlow-liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method. Most of the analyzed phenols were detectable in more than 80% of the 24h urine samples and the median concentration of BPA, TCS, BP-3, 2,4-dichorophenol and 2,5-dichorophenol (analyzed as ∑DCP), 2-phenylphenol and 4-phenylphenol were 1.37, 1.45, 1.41, 0.65, 0.36 and 0.53ng/mL, respectively. The ranges of the excreted TCS and BP-3 were wide; from below limit of detection to maximum levels of 955ng/mL and 162ng/mL, respectively, while the other phenols were excreted in a more narrow range with maximum levels below 25ng/mL. Concentrations in first morning urine were in general higher than in 24h urine and comprised 30–47% of the absolute amount excreted during 24h. The youngest children aged 6–10 years had a significantly higher urinary BPA concentration (ng/mL) and also a relatively higher daily BPA excretion (ng/kg bw/24h) than the older children and adolescents. The opposite pattern was observed for TCS, BP-3 and ∑DCP for which urinary levels increased significantly with age. No gender difference or associations to pubertal development were observed. In conclusion, our study showed that Danish children were exposed to multiple phenols simultaneously. Small children were relatively more exposed to BPA than older children, while higher exposures to TCS, BP-3 and ∑DCP were seen among adolescents. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]