Plastics from bottles and cans can affect the health of babies even before they are born.
A scientific team from ibs.GRANADA and the UGR is studying the relationship between exposure to bisphenol A, a plastic compound present in everyday products, and the development of children.
The work has also detected the impact of these chemicals on the proliferation of childhood obesity.
The research was carried out with laboratory mice
Exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), a common artificial chemical in plastics, can disrupt the development of babies even before birth. This is demonstrated by research from the Granada Biosanitary Research Institute and the University of Granada. The study was conducted on mice.
Bisphenol A is found in many everyday products, such as bottles, food containers, and cans. The problem is that this compound can interfere with metabolism and affect the body in ways that are still being studied. This new study examines what happens when pregnant mice and their offspring are exposed to BPA.
In short, the study suggests that bisphenol A, along with a poor diet, can increase the risk of obesity and behavioral problems from a very early age. "Although human studies are lacking, the results reinforce the importance of avoiding contact with and ingestion of certain chemicals during pregnancy and childhood," explains Alicia Ruiz Rodríguez, a researcher in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Granada and one of the authors of the study.
The authors of the research are scientists from the Department of Microbiology at the Faculty of Pharmacy and the Biomedical Research Center at the University of Granada, as well as researchers from the José Mataix Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology and the Granada Biomedical Research Institute.
Laboratory mice exposed to this chemical during pregnancy and lactation gained more weight and fat, but also showed alterations in their gut microbiota, the bacteria that live in their intestines and are key to health. When exposure was combined with a high-fat diet, the adverse effects intensified.
In addition, the offspring also showed behavioral changes, primarily related to hyperactivity. According to the researchers, all of this is related to how bisphenol A alters the transfer of gut bacteria from mother to baby and how these bacteria establish themselves in the first days of life.
Bisphenol A and obesity
On the other hand, UGR scientists have confirmed that BPA has a direct effect on the intestinal microbiota of children, specifically, reducing certain beneficial bacteria (from the Bacteroidota group) and favoring others, such as those from the Actinomycetota group. Some bacterial genera, such as Bacteroides, are especially sensitive to BPA, while others, such as those from the Clostridia group, appear to tolerate it better.
“What's interesting is that some of these changes in the microbiota are repeated both in samples from children exposed to bisphenol A and in samples from obese children who were not exposed, which may indicate a relationship between BPA and the development of obesity,” explains Alicia Ruiz.
This work opens the door to further investigation into whether certain changes in gut bacteria serve as warning signs of a child's exposure to bisphenol A and how this affects their metabolic health.
