Can BPS in 'BPA-free' products cause liver scarring?
Yes. BPS promoted liver fibrosis (scarring) by activating immune cells that trigger scar tissue production in the liver.
What's actually in it
Bisphenol S (BPS) replaced BPA in water bottles, food containers, can linings, and receipt paper. Products labeled "BPA-free" often contain BPS instead. Like BPA, BPS leaches from containers into food and drinks, especially when heated.
Your liver processes everything you eat and drink. It's one of the first organs to encounter BPS after you swallow it.
What the research says
A 2026 study in Toxicol Appl Pharmacol tested what BPS does to liver cells. The researchers focused on the pathway that leads from initial exposure to fibrosis, the scarring that destroys liver function over time.
BPS activated macrophages, immune cells in the liver, pushing them into an inflammatory state. These inflamed macrophages then released signals that woke up hepatic stellate cells, the cells responsible for producing scar tissue.
Once activated, stellate cells started laying down collagen and fibrous tissue inside the liver. This is the same process that happens in alcoholic liver disease and hepatitis, but here it was triggered by a chemical found in everyday plastic products.
BPS also disrupted autophagy, the cell's recycling system. When autophagy goes wrong, damaged cells and proteins pile up, driving more inflammation and more scarring.
The research at a glance
| Study | Journal | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Bisphenol S promotes hepatic fibrosis through macrophage polarization- and autophagy-mediated activation of hepatic stellate cells. | Toxicol Appl Pharmacol | 2026 |
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