Bisphenol-A: A Powerful Endocrine Disrupting Chemical

Marcello Maggiolini

doi:10.4172/2155-6202.1000e124

Abstract

Bisphenol-A: A Powerful Endocrine Disrupting Chemical

Highlights

Over the last decades, numerous synthetic compounds, including pesticides and industrial chemicals, have been introduced into the environment under the premise that they would improve standards of living without any negative consequences for humans
As the use of this plastic products has strongly increased in the last years, bisphenol A (BPA) is today one of the highest volume endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) produced worldwide with a total of 2.8 million metric tons manufactured in 2002 that increased to 5.5 million metric tons in 2011 [4]
In the 1980s, the lowest-observableadverse effect-level (LOAEL) for BPA was determined at 50 mg/kgbw/ day, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calculated a ‘‘reference dose’’ of 50 lg/kgbw [10]

Summary

Introduction

Numerous synthetic compounds, including pesticides and industrial chemicals, have been introduced into the environment under the premise that they would improve standards of living without any negative consequences for humans. Since 1990s it became evident that many environmental chemicals exert hormone-like activity and interfere with the function of endogenous hormones by disrupting their synthesis, release, transport, metabolism, binding, action or elimination. A large body of data has shown that bisphenol A (BPA), which is largely used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins, may act as a EDC.

Results

Conclusion