BPA Substitute Linked to Fat Cell Formation
Bisphenol S (BPS), a chemical that replaced bisphenol A (BPA) in some plastic products and that was believed to be safer, increases fat cell formation and might disrupt the endocrine system, according to new research.
Previous studies had found that BPA increased blood pressure and caused infertility in women. This, combined with the fact that BPA is in many plastic products that touch food and beverages, caused manufacturers to replace BPA with BPS. However, the health effects of BPS weren’t fully explored.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RELATED CONTENT
BPA Exposure Linked to Prostate Cancer
Could Drinking from BPA-Lined Cans Raise Blood Pressure?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
To conduct their study, researchers collected preadipocyte samples from the hip, thigh, or abdomen of female donors with a body mass index less than 25.
Then researchers treated each sample with BPS concentrations ranging from 0.1 nM to 25 μM for 14 days.
After analyzing the data, researchers found that any concentration of BPS fostered the formation of fat cells. At the lowest concentration (0.1 nM to 1 nM), fat cells accumulated 2 times faster than uncontaminated cells, and at the highest concentration (25 μM), fat cells accumulated 4.2 times faster.
“To our knowledge, this study is the first to show that BPS induces lipid accumulation and differentiation of primary human preadipocytes,” researchers concluded. “This study suggests that BPS may not be a harmless substitute for BPA and more thorough toxicological and epidemiological investigations of BPS effects on human health are warranted.”
—Amanda Balbi
Reference:
Boucher JG, Ahmed S, Atlas E. Bisphenol S induces adipogenesis in primary human preadipocytes from female donors [published online March 22, 2016]. Endocrinology. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1210/en.2015-1872.