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Suspect screening of bisphenol A (BPA) structural analogues and functional alternatives in human milk from Canada and South Africa

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 35, pages 557–566 (2025)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Plastic-related contaminants, such as bisphenols, can enter the maternal body and be transferred to breast milk. While common bisphenols such as bisphenol A, S, F and AF have been detected in previous studies, there is limited knowledge about the occurrence of other structurally similar compounds in human milk with potential endocrine-disrupting properties.

Objective

In this study, we investigated structural analogues and functional alternatives of bisphenol A (BPA) in 594 human milk samples collected from Canada (Montreal) and South Africa (Vhembe and Pretoria) using LC-Q-TOF-MS through suspect screening.

Methods

Suspect screening was performed using data collected from the milk samples using a customized database library (204 compounds). A retrospective semi-quantitative approach was then applied to estimate the levels of TGSA, D-8 and D-90 in human milk.

Results

This work revealed the presence of eleven compounds, including four compounds commonly used in thermal labels, four ultraviolet filters, and three synthetic antioxidants or metabolites. Retrospective semi-quantification of D-8, D-90 and TGSA revealed levels of up to 1.24, 1.98, and 0.72 ng/mL in milk, respectively.

Impact statement

Several structural analogues and functional alternatives of bisphenol A were identified in human milk through non-targeted screening. Two other phenolic compounds (Irganox 1010 and BHT-COOH) were identified in human milk for the first time. This study highlights the importance of novel strategies in human milk biomonitoring to identify emerging contaminants to which breastfeeding infants are exposed.

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Fig. 1: Compounds identified in human milk from Canada and South Africa.

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Data availability

Data will be made available on request.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to acknowledge the financial support received from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (IP3-150711: Endocrine disrupting chemicals: towards responsible replacements; Principal Investigators: B. F. Hales; B. Robaire), the Canada Foundation for Innovation/John R. Evans Leaders Fund grant (Project #35318; S. Bayen) and a Canada Research Chair in Global Environmental Health and Epidemiology held by J. Chevrier).

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Author notes

  1. Deceased: Barbara F. Hales.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Zhi Hao Chi, Lan Liu, Jingyun Zheng, Lei Tian & Stéphane Bayen

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Jonathan Chevrier

  3. University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Riana Bornman & Muvhulawa Obida

  4. McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Cindy Gates Goodyer

  5. Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Barbara F. Hales

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  1. Zhi Hao Chi
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Contributions

Zhi Hao Chi: Writing—review and editing, Writing—original draft, Methodology, Formal analysis, Data curation, Conceptualization. Lan Liu: Writing—review and editing, Formal analysis. Jingyun Zheng: Writing—review and editing, Formal analysis. Lei Tian: Writing—review and editing, Formal analysis. Jonathan Chevrier: Writing—review and editing, Resources, Methodology, Funding acquisition. Riana Bornman: Writing—review and editing, Project administration, Methodology, Funding acquisition. Muvhulawa Obida: Writing—review and editing, Methodology, Investigation, Funding acquisition. Cindy Gates Goodyer: Writing—review and editing, Methodology, Funding acquisition, Conceptualization. Barbara F. Hales: Writing—review and editing, Supervision, Resources, Project administration, Methodology, Investigation, Funding acquisition. Stéphane Bayen: Writing—review and editing, Supervision, Project administration, Methodology, Investigation, Funding acquisition, Conceptualization.

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Correspondence to Stéphane Bayen.

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Chi, Z.H., Liu, L., Zheng, J. et al. Suspect screening of bisphenol A (BPA) structural analogues and functional alternatives in human milk from Canada and South Africa. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 35, 557–566 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-025-00782-2

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