Titanium dioxide, or TiO2, sometimes referred to as E171, is an inorganic, solid substance used in a wide range of consumer goods including cosmetics, paint, plastic and food, according to the American Chemistry Council.

Les pouvoirs couvrant et éclaircissant du lithopone normal sont supérieurs à ceux de la céruse et de l'oxyde de zinc, mais inférieurs au Dioxyde de Titane pur, étant le meilleur blanc sous tout rapport. C'est le sulfure de zinc qui, avec son indice de réfraction de 2,37, est l’élément opaque ; le 2nd composé, le sulfate de baryum, joue un rôle de diluant minéral et favorise l'efficacité de la diffusion du premier.

Australian researchers examined how titanium dioxide as a food additive affected gut microbiota in mice by orally administering it in drinking water. The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition in 2019, found the treatment could “alter the release of bacterial metabolites in vivo and affect the spatial distribution of commensal bacteria in vitro by promoting biofilm formation. We also found reduced expression of the colonic mucin 2 gene, a key component of the intestinal mucus layer, and increased expression of the beta defensin gene, indicating that titanium dioxide significantly impacts gut homeostasis.” The changes were then linked to colonic inflammation, along with a higher expression of inflammatory cytokines, which are signal proteins that help with regulation. The researchers concluded that titanium dioxide “impairs gut homeostasis which may in turn prime the host for disease development.”