Phthalic acid esters (phthalates) are used as plasticizers in numerous consumer products, commodities, and building materials. Consequently, phthalates are found in human residential and occupational environments in high concentrations, both in air and in dust. Phthalates are also ubiquitous food and environmental contaminants. An increasing number of studies sampling human urine reveal the ubi...

BACKGROUND Phthalates have been found in many personal care and industrial products, but have not previously been reported in food purchased in the United States. Phthalates are ubiquitous synthetic compounds and therefore difficult to measure in foods containing trace levels. Phthalates have been associated with endocrine disruption and developmental alteration. OBJECTIVES Our goals were to ...

INTRODUCTION Phthalates are synthetic industrial compounds capable of disrupting endocrine system. Effects of phthalates depend on dosage, duration of action and stage of development of the individual, thus making the fetus, newborn, and children at puberty the most vulnerable groups. METABOLISM OF PHTHALATES: Metabolism of these compounds consists of at least two steps: hydrolysis and conjugat...

Twenty four children's toys and child care articles available in the local market of India were analyzed for eight phthalates as children toys are plasticized with phthalates. All toy samples showed the presence of one or more phthalates including di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (96% of the samples), di-iso-nonyl phthalate and di-iso-decyl phthalate (42% of the samples) at a concentration ranging f...

MIKULA P., SVOBODOVÁ Z., SMUTNÁ M. (2005): Phthalates: toxicology and food safety – a review. Czech J. Food Sci., 23: 217–223. Phthalates are organic substances used mainly as plasticisers in the manufacture of plastics. They are ubiquitous in the environment. Although tests in rodents have demonstrated numerous negative effects of phthalates, it is still unclear whether the exposure to phthala...

Due to their extensive use as plasticisers in numerous consumer products, phthalates have become ubiquitous environmental contaminants. An increasing number of epidemiological studies suggest that exposure to phthalates may be associated with worsening or development of airway diseases. Peroxisome Proliferation Activated Receptors (PPAR)s, identified as important targets for phthalates in early...

Phthalates are a class of high volume production chemicals used as plasticizers for household and industrial use. Several members of this chemical family have endocrine disrupting activity. Owing to ubiquitous environmental distribution and exposure of human population at all stages of life, phthalate contamination is a continuous global public health problem. Clinical and experimental studies ...

Internationally several phthalates are subject to regulatory control regarding maximum allowable concentrations in children's toys. Such regulation is not in place in New Zealand. Phthalates have been associated with developmental toxicity and endocrine disruption. We determined the concentration of seven phthalates in children's toys purchased in Christchurch, New Zealand. These results provid...