DNA oxidative damage in pregnant women upon exposure to conventional and alternative phthalates

[Display omitted] •Emerging plasticizer DPHP has entered the body of pregnant women in south China.•Levels of phthalate metabolites in pregnant women changed during pregnancy.•24% of women are exposure to higher levels of phthalates than the safety thresholds.•Closer correlations are found between conventional phthalates and 8-OHdG than the alternatives. Exposure to alternative phthalates and related health effects in pregnant women are rarely reported. Nineteen phthalate metabolites and a DNA oxidative damage biomarker 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) were determined in urine samples of pregnant women recruited in South China. The detection frequencies and concentration of selected alternative phthalates, i.e., diisononyl phthalate (DiNP), diisodecyl phthalate (DiDP) and di-(2-propylheptyl) phthalate (DPHP) were lower than those of conventional phthalates. However, mono-(6-hydroxy-2-propylheptyl) phthalate, a metabolite of DPHP, was detected in 70% of urine samples (median: 0.13 ng/mL). The estimated daily intakes of conventional plasticizers, including dimethyl phthalate, di-n-butyl phthalate, diisobutyl phthalate and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (median range: 1.0–3.0 μg/kg_bw/day) were significantly higher than those of DiNP (0.08 μg/kg_bw/day) and DPHP (0.03 μg/kg_bw/day) (p