Bisphenol-A substitute bisphenol fluorene or adverse pregnancy in mice

A study published in nature communication on March 1 suggested that bhpf, a chemical used to produce BPA Free plastics, may cause adverse pregnancy outcomes in mice The study also showed that bhpf in commercial water bottles may enter drinking water However, the study was conducted only in mice and did not provide evidence of negative effects of bhpf on human health BPA is a kind of plastic softener, which is widely used in plastic packaging of food and drinking water However, studies have shown that BPA can enter food and produce estrogen like effects, so scientists are looking for alternative compounds without estrogen activity Hu Jianying of Peking University and colleagues report that bhpf, a BPA alternative, can be detected in hot water contained in commercial plastic water bottles, including baby bottles Experiments with cultured cells and 10 mice have shown that bhpf is anti estrogen (blocking the effect of estrogen), and can cause low uterus weight, low cub weight and sometimes pregnancy failure in mice Among the 100 students who often drink water from plastic bottles, the author found that seven of them had trace bhpf in their blood, but did not detect the bhpf content in their water bottles, so it was impossible to determine whether these students' exposure to bhpf was high These findings suggest that further assessment of the safety of bhpf and other chemicals used as BPA alternatives should be undertaken Although some countries will screen the estrogen activity of chemicals, anti estrogen is not included in the routine screening program.