At Cosmed’s 17th JEST, a day of scientific and technical exchanges held in Montpellier, France on September 29, and dedicated to critical cosmetic ingredients this year, toxicologist Alain Lombard made a complete update on what we know about endocrine disruptors. After tackling the issue of definitions and identification criteria, he explained their mechanisms of action in the human body and evoked the doses at which they are harmful.
Second part of article Endocrine disruptors: an update on scientific knowledge (1/3)
When we talk about endocrine disruptors, we usually think about their effects on the hormonal system… and we forget our organs and some of our cells also produce hormones involved in metabolic regulations: ‘these hormones have effects on everything,’ Alain Lombard explained, ‘including the central nervous system, the gut, the liver, salivary glands… And they undergo transformations related to the xenobiotics we introduce into our bodies. In the end, it is actually clear disruptions are global.’
To Alain Lombard, again, the issue at stake is the definition of endocrine disruptors. Indeed, the body reacts to the introduction of any xenobiotic (a substance found in a living organism, but which is foreign to it) by any means. As soon as one of them penetrates the body (via the stomach, nose, skin…), it is ‘managed’, identified, transported, and modified not to cause any harm. ‘So, you end up with metabolic disruptions that are as important as endocrine disruptions,’ Alain Lombard commented.
Hormones and their receptors
Our hormones have multiple functions and play a role in many mechanisms regulating our bodies, like reproduction, growth, development, internal environment maintenance, energy availability…
They …
