Search Here

An antibacterial agent, called triclosan, found commonly in found in soap, toothpaste, clothes and hampers muscle function in animals and fish and may have implications for human health, researchers have found.

The researchers, after testing the substance on mice and fish concluded that that it affects muscle strength including heart function. After the usage of the substance, fishes showed a low capacity of swimming.

"Triclosan is found in virtually everyone's home and is pervasive in the environment," said Isaac Pessah, professor and chair of the Department of Molecular Biosciences in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and principal investigator of the study, according to Telegraph.

"These findings provide strong evidence that the chemical is of concern to both human and environmental health."

The amount of substance to which the animals and fish were exposed was equal to the amount that human beings receive ever day on an average.

According to researchers, triclosan affects the contraction capacity of the heart and skeletal muscles in living animals. When the chemical was exposed on anaesthetized mice, their heart function dropped by 25 percent within 20 minutes of the exposure, telegraph reported.

"The effects of triclosan on cardiac function were really dramatic," Nipavan Chiamvimonvat, professor of cardiovascular medicine at UC Davis and a study co-author, said.

"Although triclosan is not regulated as a drug, this compound acts like a potent cardiac depressant in our models."

"We were surprised by the large degree to which muscle activity was impaired in very different organisms and in both cardiac and skeletal muscle," Bruce Hammock, a study co-author and professor in the University of California Davis' Department of Entomology said. 

"You can imagine in animals that depend so totally on muscle activity that even a 10 per cent reduction in ability can make a real difference in their survival."

"Triclosan can be useful in some instances, however, it has become a ubiquitous 'value added' marketing factor that actually could be more harmful than helpful. At the very least, our findings call for a dramatic reduction in its use."

However, more studies need to be undertaken in order to establish the effect triclosan has on human muscles, the researchers said.

The findings were published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.