Scientists at the University of California have found that triclosan, which is used in hundreds of household products, can hinder the process by which muscles, including the heart, receive signals from the brain.
In tests on mice, they noted a 'dramatic' 25 per cent reduction in heart function within 20 minutes of exposure, and warned there is 'strong evidence' it could affect human health.
However regulators and other experts insist triclosan levels in products are safe, and that the doses injected into the mice were higher than those to which humans would ever be exposed.
Previous studies have found that triclosan may have links to thyroid and fertility problems, this is the first time its effects have been tested on muscles.
Scientists had thought that the chemical
