Folate Shields Fetus Against Chemical in Plastics By HealthDay
News, The Washington Post 30 July 2007: Fetal exposure to a
chemical in plastics can affect infant health, a new study
shows, but folic acid, as well as genistein, an active
ingredient in soy, may both help protect babies from those
effects. The Duke University research team demonstrated that
exposing baby mice in the womb to bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical
used in most plastics, changed the physical appearance of the
mice, although not their genes. The results demonstrate that
chemical exposures during pregnancy can affect the way genes are
expressed, the researchers say. The researchers used a strain of
agouti mice that are known to be born slender and brown. When
mouse mothers received BPA, a significant number of the baby
mice were born with a yellow coat. Previous studies have shown
that yellow agouti mice are also at risk for diabetes, obesity
and cancer. "The fact that the mice fed BPA had a yellow coat
and likely would grow to be obese as ad