Antibacterial soap performs no better than regular soap when it comes to killing germs, even if it contains the controversial chemical triclosan, a new study has found, according to The Guardian.
Triclosan, a chemical that fights bacteria, fungi and viruses, has long been debated about in terms of efficacy and safety. It is the active ingredient in most antibacterial soaps. While some argue that it is effective in fighting against germs, others say it is not safe and may possibly cause cancer.
In 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration required soap manufacturers to prove that antibacterial soap is not only safe to use but can do a better job than regular soap, Live Science reported.
Thus, Korean researchers conducted a study comparing the action of antibacterial soap with that of regular soap by checking how effective they are in eliminating bacteria. While many studies about the subject have been done before, this is the first time that antibacterial soap was tested against 20 different strains of bacteria.
The researchers prepared two sets of experiments. In the first set, bacterial strains grown in Petri dishes were exposed either to an antibacterial soap or an ordinary soap. To simulate the washing of hands in hot water, the samples were heated up from 72 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 seconds, which is the World Health Organization's recommended time for hand washing.
In the second set, the researchers put bacteria in the hands of 16 adults, who were then told to wash their hands using either an antibacterial soap or a regular soap for 30 seconds in warm water.
The antibacterial soap used in the experiments contained 0.3 percent triclosan, the maximum amount allowed in countries like Australia, the European Union and Canada, according to The Guardian.
The experiment results did not show any "significant" difference in both soaps' action toward bacteria. However, when the bacterial samples were allowed to soak in the soaps, the antibacterial soap eliminated more bacteria than ordinary soap - but only after nine hours.
"This study shows that presence of antiseptic ingredients (in this case, triclosan) in soap does not always guarantee higher anti-microbial efficacy during hand washing," Min-Suk Rhee, lead study author and food bioscience and technology researcher at Korea University in Seoul, told Live Science.
Rhee challenged manufacturers of antibacterial soaps to provide scientific evidence of the product's efficacy before advertising it as an antiseptic.
"If the manufacturer would like to advertise the antiseptic efficacy of their products, they should supply scientific evidence to support the claims," Rhee said.
The study was published in the Sept. 15 online issue of the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.
