An article published on June 6, 2018, in the peer-reviewed journal Experimental Biology and Medicine reports that exposure to bisphenol A (BPA, CAS 80-05-7) may be a risk factor for development and relapse of the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD is a collective name for several inflammatory gut disorders, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Jennifer DeLuca and colleagues from the Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Texas A&M University, U.S., used ovariectomized mice to study the effects of 15-days-long BPA exposure on the development and progression of the acute dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis. In this disease model, they observed that BPA exposure “increased mortality and worsened disease activity as well as inflammation.” Further, BPA resulted in a specific alteration of metabolite profiles in the gut microbiota, namely a reduction in the levels of several anti-inflammatory molecules, and this regardless of colitis-inducing chemical treatment.
The authors conclude that their study is the first “to show that [BPA] treatment alone can reduce microbiota metabolites . . . in the colon which may be associated with increased colonic inflammation and inflammatory bowel disease.”
Read more
Science Daily (July 5, 2018). “BPA risk factor for inflammatory bowel disease.”
Chemical Watch (July 19, 2018). “BPA may worsen inflammatory bowel disease, US study says.”
Reference
DeLuca, J., et al. (2018). “Bisphenol-A alters microbiota metabolites derived from aromatic amino acids and worsens disease activity during colitis.” Experimental Biology and Medicine 243(10):864-875.
