Dr. Ayelet Ziv-Gal

Parabens are a class of chemicals that can be produced naturally by plants and bacteria or synthetically in manufacturing. Their chemical properties and relatively low costs of production have led to the world-wide use of parabens as antimicrobial preservatives in personal care products, food and beverages, and pharmaceuticals. Subsequently, parabens accumulate in the environment including house dust, surface water, wastewater, and soil. The increased use of parabens in the daily-use products and accumulation in the environment also results in consistent detection of parabens in tissues and fluids of various species including humans, pets, marine and farm animals. This is worrying because parabens are endocrine disrupting chemicals that can impact animal and human health. For example, it was reported that parabens have weak estrogenic properties, and they can alter nuclear receptors activity and synthesis of sex steroid hormones. This talk will provide an overview of the occurrence of parabens in the environment along with findings on their impact on reproductive health.