We measured urinary phthalate metabolites, including di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), di-isobutyl phthalate, benzyl butyl phthalate (BBzP), and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), from 178 school-aged children and their 284 family members using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and we calculated daily phthalate intakes. The highest median levels of phthalate metabolites were for mono-isobutyl ph...

Incubation under controlled laboratory conditions were performed to assess the toxic effects of two plastic derived chemicals, bisphenol A (BPA) and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), on growth, photosynthetic efficiency activity cosmopolitan diatom Chaetoceros decipiens-lorenzianus . Non-axenic cells exposed concentrations BPA DEHP (separately in mixture), mimicking observed contaminated mari...

We assessed the urinary concentration of 16 phthalate metabolites in 57 women with and without uterine leiomyoma (n = 30 and 27; respectively) to determine the association between phthalate exposure and uterine leiomyoma. To evaluate exposure to di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP); we calculated the molar sum of DEHP metabolites; ∑3-DEHP (combining mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP); mono-(2-e...

BACKGROUND Previous studies have shown that women have higher urinary concentrations of several phthalate metabolites than do men, possibly because of a higher use of personal care products. Few studies have evaluated the association between phthalate metabolites, diabetes, and diabetes-related risk factors among women. OBJECTIVE We explored the association between urinary phthalate metabolit...

Reviewers HCWH thanks the following individuals for reviewing an earlier draft of this report. Their comments and suggestions were invaluable and substantially improved the manuscript. We are grateful for their contribution. Their review, however, does not constitute endorsement of the report or its conclusions. Two additional reviewers chose to remain anonymous. A g g r e g a t e E x p o s u r...

Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS) is a simple process used in developing countries to improve the quality of bacteria-contaminated drinking water. A previous study found that phthalate, an aromatic compound released by polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles upon UV-A irradiation, enhanced the germicidal activity of SODIS. In the current study, two possible mechanisms behind this observation we...

Two distinct regions of DNA encode the enzymes needed for phthalate degradation by Burkholderia cepacia DBO1. A gene coding for an enzyme (quinolinate phosphoribosyl transferase) involved in the biosynthesis of NAD+ was identified between these two regions by sequence analysis and functional assays. Southern hybridization experiments indicate that DBO1 and other phthalate-degrading B. cepacia s...

BACKGROUND Phthalates are widely used chemicals, and human exposure is extensive. Recent studies have indicated that phthalates may have thyroid-disrupting properties. OBJECTIVE We aimed to assess concentrations of phthalate metabolites in urine samples from Danish children and to investigate the associations with thyroid function, insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), and growth. METHODS I...

BACKGROUND Phthalate exposure occurs readily in the environment and has been associated with an array of health end points, including adverse birth outcomes. Some of these may be mediated by oxidative stress, a proposed mechanism for phthalate action. OBJECTIVES In the present study, we explored the associations between phthalate metabolites and biomarkers of oxidative stress measured in urin...

An enzymatic system has been isolated that catalyzes dihydroxylation of phthalate to form 1,2-dihydroxy-4,5-dicarboxy-3,5-cyclohexadiene with consumption of NADH and O2. This system is comprised of two proteins: a flavo-iron-sulfur protein with NADH-dependent oxidoreductase activity and a nonheme iron protein with oxygenase activity. Phthalate oxygenase is a large (approximately 217 kDa) protei...