In a review article published online on March 16, 2015 in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives, Johanna Rochester and Ashley Bolden of the U.S. non-profit health group The Endocrine Disruption Exchange (TEDX) evaluated the physiological effects and endocrine activities of two bisphenol A (BPA, CAS 80-05-7) substitutes, namely, bisphenol S (BPS, CAS 80-09-1) and bisphenol F (BPF, CAS 620-92-8). Further, the authors compared the hormonal potency of BPS and BPF to BPA. The authors conducted a systematic review using a protocol developed by the U.S. National Toxicology Program’s (NTP) Office of Health Assessment and Translation (OHAT). A total of 32 studies (25 in vitro only and seven in vivo) were reviewed. Most of these studies found the potency of BPF and BPS to be in the same order of magnitude and of similar action compared to BPA. Furthermore, BPS has potencies similar to estradiol in membrane-mediated pathways important for cellular actions. BPS and BPF also showed other effects in vitro and in vivo e.g., altered organ weights, reproductive endpoints, and enzyme expression levels. The authors further highlight that metabolism and biological fate of BPS and BPF have not been thoroughly investigated. However, experiments indicate that BPF has similar metabolism and distribution as BPA. No studies have assessed the metabolism of BPS. Studies determining the metabolism of BPS and the bioactivity of BPF and BPS metabolites are thus warranted. The authors conclude that based on the current literature, BPS and BPF are as hormonally active as BPA and thus may also pose similar potential health hazards.

Johanna Rochester will discuss the study results on March 18, 2015 at 1 pm EDT (6 pm CET) in a teleconference call organized by the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE).

Read more

Rochester, J. R. and Bolden, A. L. (2015). “Bisphenol S and F: A systematic review and comparison of the hormonal activity of bisphenol A substitutes.Environmental Health Perspectives (open access, published online March 16, 2015).

Justin Worland (March 16, 2015). “Why ‘BPA-free’ may be meaningless.TIME

Share