Properties, threats, and methods of analysis of bisphenol A and its derivatives

Excess female sex hormones, estrogenic compounds, can have deleterious effects on living organisms. Estrogen and its derivatives can disrupt natural hormone balance in both men and women. This disruption is of particular importance in the young, because the changes triggered are irreversible. Many compounds, for example organochlorine pesticides, alkylphenols, polychlorobiphenyls, organotin compounds, and bisphenol A and its derivatives, have recently been shown to have effects on humans similar to those of estrogen. This paper is devoted to the last of these compounds, its usage, methods of analysis, and its migration from packaging into food.