Ordinary Daily Chemicals Are More Dangerous to Humans Than Scientists Thought

SadaNews - In our daily lives, we are directly exposed to thousands of industrial and agricultural compounds, in addition to additives in plastics, as well as flame retardants, which are chemicals added to plastics and fabrics to reduce flammability.

According to a new extensive study published in the journal "Nature Microbiology," a team led by scientists from the University of Cambridge found that a significant portion of these ordinary daily chemicals affects the gut microbiome, even if these compounds were not originally designed to target living cells.

The gut microbiome is a vast community of beneficial bacteria, fungi, and viruses that live in the digestive system, helping with digestion, producing certain vitamins, regulating immunity, and protecting the intestines from harmful microbes, among many other functions.

Shocking Result

According to the new study, the research team examined the impact of 1076 substances on 22 types of gut bacteria. For systematic comparison, the study used a single concentration in the initial examination, then retested part of the results using a gradient of concentrations to ensure that the effect does not disappear entirely when the dose of the tested chemical compound is reduced.

The study found that 168 of these substances inhibited the growth of gut bacteria, noting that most of these substances were not previously known to have antibacterial properties.

Fungicides were among the most impactful categories, with the paper indicating that about 30% of the substances in this category showed antibacterial activity against gut bacteria.

Researchers also detected "broad-spectrum" substances, meaning that they harmed a large number of the tested bacterial types, with examples mentioned in the study including tetrabromobisphenol A, chlordan, and bisphenol AF, the latter being used in some plastic applications.

Additionally, the study indicates that when bacteria are exposed to these substances, they may alter their functioning and behavior to survive, but this is associated with mechanisms previously observed in antibiotic resistance cases, meaning that these compounds inadvertently make the bacteria more aggressive.

Safety Assessment

Currently, traditional safety tests often focus on the intended target of the substance; for example, food safety if the aim of the substance is to preserve food, without including the gut microbiome in the equation.

Therefore, the new study suggests that incorporating this dimension into safety assessment has become a public necessity, and adds an auxiliary tool: an AI model that predicts the likelihood of any new substance having activity affecting gut bacteria.

In this context, it should be clarified that the study does not talk about inevitable harm inside the body, as what actually reaches the gut from these substances varies significantly, depending on dosage, absorption, cumulative exposure, interactions with food and medications, etc.

This means that there is no need for increased daily caution on your part, but simply recommendations such as thoroughly washing fruits and vegetables and reducing unnecessary household use of pesticides of all kinds are appropriate steps to reduce exposure to these risks.

On a policy level, the most important idea is that the safety of chemical compounds should include the safety of the human microbiome. This protects humans in the long term.

Source: Online websites