Household triclosan and triclocarban effects on the infant and maternal microbiome. Issue 12 (13th October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ribado, Jessica V; Ley, Catherine; Haggerty, Thomas D; Tkachenko, Ekaterina; Bhatt, Ami S; Parsonnet, Julie
• Is Part Of: EMBO molecular medicine. Volume 9:Issue 12(2017)
• Page Start: 1732
• Page End: 1741
• Publication Date: 2017-10-13
• Subjects: antibiotic -- microbiome -- resistance -- triclosan; Molecular biology -- Periodicals; Medical genetics -- Periodicals; Pathology, Molecular -- Periodicals; 616.04205
• DOI: 10.15252/emmm.201707882
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1757-4676

Abstract

Abstract: In 2016, the US Food and Drug Administration banned the use of specific microbicides in some household and personal wash products due to concerns that these chemicals might induce antibiotic resistance or disrupt human microbial communities. Triclosan and triclocarban (referred to as TCs) are the most common antimicrobials in household and personal care products, but the extent to which TC exposure perturbs microbial communities in humans, particularly during infant development, was unknown. We conducted a randomized intervention of TC‐containing household and personal care products during the first year following birth to characterize whether TC exposure from wash products perturbs microbial communities in mothers and their infants. Longitudinal survey of the gut microbiota using 16S ribosomal RNA amplicon sequencing showed that TC exposure from wash products did not induce global reconstruction or loss of microbial diversity of either infant or maternal gut microbiotas. Broadly antibiotic‐resistant species from the phylum Proteobacteria, however, were enriched in stool samples from mothers in TC households after the introduction of triclosan‐containing toothpaste. When compared by urinary triclosan level, agnostic to treatment arm, infants with higher triclosan levels also showed an enrichment of Proteobacteria species. Despite the minimal effects of TC exposure from wash products on the gut microbial community of infants and adults, detected taxonomic differences highlight the need for consumer safety testing of antimicrobial self‐care products on the human microbiome and on antibiotic resistance. Synopsis: The extent to which exposure to common household antimicrobials, mainly triclosan and triclocarban (referred to as TCs), disrupts human adult and developing infant microbiomes was unknown. This study reveals an effect on mothers through oral rather than skin exposure. Microbiome diversity is not affected in adults or infants by household TC exposure. Mothers of TC households show an enrichment of phylum known to harbor and associate with wide antibiotic resistance, only after the introduction of oral care products containing triclosan. Selection of gut microbes by TC may be driven by oral exposure more than skin exposure. Abstract : The extent to which exposure to common household antimicrobials, mainly triclosan and triclocarban (referred to as TCs), disrupts human adult and developing infant microbiomes was unknown. This study reveals an effect on mothers through oral rather than skin exposure.