Leather sewing machine

There are many ways we’re exposed to titanium dioxide in our everyday life. Below are the most common ways we encounter titanium dioxide. 

It’s true that titanium dioxide does not rank as high for UVA protection as zinc oxide, it ends up being a small difference (think about it like being 10 years old versus 10 years and 3 months old). This is not easily understood in terms of other factors affecting how sunscreen actives perform (such as the base formula), so many, including some dermatologists, assume that zinc oxide is superior to titanium dioxide for UVA protection. When carefully formulated, titanium dioxide provides excellent UVA protection. Its UVA protection peak is lower than that of zinc oxide, but both continue to provide protection throughout the UVA range for the same amount of time.

For a mini-review published in the journal Particle and Fibre Technology in 2021, scientists wanted to evaluate whether Ti02 particles contributed to the development and/or exacerbation of irritable bowel disease, and whether they altered the four elements of intestinal barrier function: the intestinal microbiota, the immune system, the mucus layer, and the epithelium. The breakdown of these four elements can contribute to autoimmune, neurological, inflammatory, infectious, and metabolic diseases. Following their review, the researchers concluded: “Data indicate that TiO2 is able to alter the four compartments of IBF and to induce a low-grade intestinal inflammation associated or not with pre-neoplastic lesions.” 

In a 2017 study published in Scientific Reports, researchers exposed rats to human-relevant levels of E171 to examine the effects of intestinal inflammation and carcinogenesis. They saw that “a 100-day E171 treatment promoted colon microinflammation and initiated preneoplastic lesions while also fostering the growth of aberrant crypt foci in a chemically induced carcinogenesis model.” They continued: “Stimulation of immune cells isolated from Peyer’s Patches [which are clusters of lymphoid follicles found in the intestine] showed a decrease in Thelper (Th)-1 IFN-γ secretion, while splenic Th1/Th17 inflammatory responses sharply increased,” researchers wrote. “A 100-day titanium dioxide treatment promoted colon microinflammation and initiated preneoplastic lesions.” The scientists concluded: “These data should be considered for risk assessments of the susceptibility to Th17-driven autoimmune diseases and to colorectal cancer in humans exposed to TiO2 from dietary sources.”