Tamiflu and Titanium Dioxide--A Deadly Combination?

[Missouriwatcher]

Among the other ingredients list in a capsule (also in oral suspension) of Tamiflu: titanium dioxide (E171)
http://www.roche.com/tamiflu_pil_eu.pdf

"ScienceDaily (Nov. 17, 2009) — Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, found in everything from cosmetics to sunscreen to paint to vitamins, caused systemic genetic damage in mice, according to a comprehensive study conducted by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116165739.htm

 

[tropical]

Re: Tamiflu and Titanium Dioxide--A Deadly Combination?

Maybe we could enlarge this:

#1: "nanoparticles, found in everything from cosmetics to sunscreen to paint to vitamins"


If "everything", that it is probably in many other drugs also.

Whats about canned food preservatives, food processing plant preservatives at various countries/legislations, etc.

That's why the text font of aditives/preservatives on the final product label was mainly so small and coded, who watch it ...

 

[wetDirt]

Re: Tamiflu and Titanium Dioxide--A Deadly Combination?

I did a quick google rummage, and turned up three studies. One was inhalation in rats, and found mild lung irritation, typical of dusts, that cleared up in a couple weeks after exposure. One was injection in rats, and found TiO2 in a variety of tissues, but mainly it was excreted in liver, and went away within a month after exposure. The third study, this one, was dissolved in water in rats to test occupational exposure. They say they found all kinds of problems, the problems didn't go away, and that one or another unknown mechanism is to blame. I call a bad study. They don't actually claim they know how the damage is being done, which is odd, and they claim the stuff is not removed, which seems odd based on the other two studies. It's not adding up, and it appears to be slightly slanted and sensationlist, unlike the other two studies. I'm not convinced by this new study, it just doensnt make sense to me.

 

[tropical]

Re: Tamiflu and Titanium Dioxide--A Deadly Combination?

If titanium didn't taste ,

there are other nanoparticles which ad ex. purposedly laced the food packaging.

Here's one example from fast googling "nanoparticles used in human food":


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080410115323.htm

from 2008
Could Nanoparticles Be Used To Improve Food Safety?

...

"For example, silver nanoparticles are already being used in food packaging to soak up the plant-ripening hormone ethylene, extending the shelf life of fruits."
___

or from 2007:

Biological effects of nanoparticles used as glidants in powders

http://www.mio-ecsde.org/filemgmt_data/files/biological%20effects%20of%20nanoparticles.pdf

___

or from "Scientific American", 2008:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=do-nanoparticles-in-food-pose-health-risk

Do Nanoparticles in Food Pose a Health Risk?

A new study reveals that nanoparticles are being used in everything from beer to baby drinks despite a lack of safety information

By David Biello

...
http://www.scientificamerican.com/media/inline/A9083347-A564-246F-211710B3941FE133_1.jpg

NANO-SIZED RISK: Nanoparticles, like the one modeled here next to a mouse, are appearing in food and food packaging in a range of products.

...

 

[wetDirt]

Re: Tamiflu and Titanium Dioxide--A Deadly Combination?

I think that any nanoparticle used in products needs to be studied for problems, including disposal of the residue. But I hope that this doesn't turn into another GM kind of thing, where the good work is drowned out by ideology. What I did in my post was to compare the study that was the subject of the post with two very similar studies. I don't make the leap that TiO2 is not ever going to be a problem, only that the study doesn't make sense compared with other similar studies. I'm not generalizing it to any kind of nanoparticle at all because they are all going to turn out to be different anyway. And nanoparticles aren't all that new or special anyway, they have been around in small quantites for years and a few are known to cause problems. Silica dust is one--a lot of it is nanoscale and it's clearly bad for the lungs. I don't see a way to generalize from one kind to another. It's fine to ask whether they are safe, but it has to be addressed case by case.