Berlin (dpa) - Ubiquitous industrial chemicals and pesticides have a "toxic effect" on germs that play a key role in maintaining human health and could be a threat to male reproductive health, according to two teams of scientists. "Many chemicals designed to act only on one type of target, say insects or fungi, also affect gut bacteria," says the University of Cambridge’s Indra Roux, whose team’s probe of more than 1,000 potential contaminants found 168 that are likely a danger to the human microbiome. "Most of these chemicals had not been previously reported to have antibacterial properties," the researchers say, in a paper published in the journal Nature Microbiology. "Fungicides and industrial chemicals showed the largest impact, with around 30% exhibiting anti-gut-bacterial activity," the team says. "When the microbiome is knocked out of balance there can be wide-ranging effects on our health including digestive problems, obesity, and effects on our immune system and mental health," the researchers warn. The findings followed the publication in November of a warning by George Mason University researchers that "insecticide exposure," particularly to neonicotinoids, could undermine sperm production. "We concluded it is possible that exposure to these chemicals can lower sperm quality, disrupt hormones, and damage testicular tissue," says Sumaiya Safia Irfan, who was part of a team whose findings were published by the journal Environmental Research. While the data used were animal-based, the team found that "the "nature of reproductive processes across mammals supports the relevance of these findings to human health." The following information is not intended for publication dpa spr arw (The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)
