Many of us choose antibacterial soap thinking we are taking extra measures to protect ourselves from germs.

不少人在洗手时会用除菌皂，认为这能提供额外保护，是我们应对细菌的有效措施。

But now, a study has found it is no more effective than plain soap at killing¹ bacteria.

但目前一项研究发现，它的除菌效果其实并不比普通肥皂好。

Millions of consumers in the US use antibacterial hand soap and body wash products, spending nearly $1 billion annually², researchers said.

研究人员表示，全美境内有几百万人会选购除菌洗手皂和身体清洁用品，每年花费于此的金额约十亿美金。

In the UK, the soap, bath and shower market, which includes both anti-bacterial and plain soap, was worth £638 million in 2014, according to Mintel.

市场调查公司英敏特（Mintel）称，全英国境内，肥皂（包括除菌皂和普通皂）和各类沐浴用品市场在2014年市场价值约为6.38亿英镑。

The expectation is that antibacterial products will provide more protection from germs than plain soap, the researchers continued.

研究人员还补充道，顾客对于除菌产品的期望是：此类用品要优于普通肥皂，能为他们提供更好的保护，免于细菌的伤害。

However, their study revealed there is 'no significant' difference between antibacterial soap and the normal type.

然而，他们的研究表明，除菌皂和普通肥皂其实并没有“显著”区别。

Korean scientists examined the effect of triclosan, the active antiseptic ingredient most commonly used in these types of soaps.

三氯生是此类肥皂中最常见的活性除菌原料，来自韩国的科学家做了实验来检验三氯生的除菌效果。

They examined how effectively the ingredient killed bacteria, testing it against 20 strains.

实验检验了此原料面对20多类细菌，杀菌能力到底有多强。

They added triclosan to bacteria warmed to 22°C (room temperature) and 40°C (warm temperature) for 20 seconds, to recreate the conditions under which humans normally wash their hands.

他们在22度的细菌培养皿（室内温度）和40度的细菌培养皿（暖和的温度）内加入三氯生，并等待20秒，来重现人们洗手的场景。

They used a triclosan concentration of 0.3 percent - the maximum allowed by law.

他们使用的是浓度为0.3%的三氯生，为法定最高浓度。

They found triclosan had killed significantly more bacteria after nine hours or more, but not during the short time required for hand washing.

他们后来发现，在等待九个多小时以后，三氯生的杀菌效果非常卓越，但洗手的短暂时间仍不足以杀死细菌。

Then, they compared the ability of antibacterial and non-antibacterial soap to remove bacteria from human hands, by using 16 healthy adult volunteers.

然后，他们通过16位健康成人志愿者的参与协助，再次比较除菌皂和普通肥皂去除手上细菌的能力。

They found it was no more effective, both experiments indicating that there is 'no significant difference' between the effects of plain soap and antibacterial soap when used under ‘real life’ conditions, they concluded.

他们最后总结道，结果表明除菌皂不比普通皂有效，所有的实验结果都证明这两种肥皂在“日常生活”中并没有“显著区别”。

The paper's lead author, Dr Min-Suk Rhee, of Korea University, said 'advertisement and consumer belief regarding the effectiveness of antibacterial soaps needs to be addressed.'

高丽大学（Korea University）的李敏硕博士是本论文的第一作者，他表示，“关于除菌皂的能力，广告的错误引导和消费者扭曲的认知都需要改改了。”