Toothpaste ingredient linked to antibiotic resistance

Conclusion This study mainly explored why bacterial resistance could be common for both quinolone antibiotics like ciprofloxacin and the antibacterial triclosan. It confirmed previous findings that one cause seems to be bacteria developing mutations in the gyrA gene. In the case of quinolones, the mutation alters the enzyme that they normally bind to. Triclosan resistance is largely because the already-mutant bacteria have boosted stress response pathways, or molecular defences. The main finding of this research was that small triclosan concentrations led to resistant E. coli bacteria becoming the more dominant strains more likely to survive and reproduce. This may cause concern that low concentrations in everyday products like toothpastes and body washes could lead to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. But this study didn't find direct evidence for this. Certain mutant E. coli strains did become more dominant, but only if they were already present. Importantly, triclosan exposure didn't lead to new mutations developing in previously normal E. coli bacteria. This means that this research didn't demonstrate that triclosan causes the development of drug-resistant bacteria. Nevertheless, there could be other mechanisms that cause resistance, aside from gyrA gene mutations. And triclosan exposure could also have an effect on the effectiveness of other antimicrobials. This study will undoubtedly be an important contribution to the body of evidence on triclosan....
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Source Type: news