A mechanistic approach for toxicity and risk assessment of heavy metals, hydroquinone and microorganisms in cosmetic creams

Abstract

The demand and importance of fairness creams as a major cosmetic have increased significantly in recent years. However, some of these cosmetics contain heavy metals, hydroquinone and microorganism that can cause various health problems. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine and examine the concentration of metals (i.e. Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni, Zn, Hg), hydroquinone and microorganisms in nine different fairness creams produced by local and international brands. The health risk assessment of the tested substances for consumers was accessed through systemic exposure dosage (SED), margin of safety (MoS), lifetime cancer risk (LCR), hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI). The concentration of Zn and Hg were found the highest and measured in the range of 17.82–138.06 mg.kg−1 and 2.3–141 mg.kg−1, respectively. The concentrations of other metals were determined as 0.06–0.67 mg.kg−1 of Cd, 0.43–1.55 mg.kg−1 of Cr, 0.14–1.43 mg.kg−1 of Ni and 0.3–1.34 mg.kg−1 of Pb. HPLC results showed a significant presence of hydroquinone in the range of 0.12–7.2%. The total viable counts of cosmetic samples showed the substantial presence of microorganisms, and 44% of the collected samples surpassed the permissible limit of 100 cfu/g recommended by European Union. Many of the collected samples exceeded the MoS, HQ and HI tolerance limits. However, the LCR value in all samples was significantly higher than the acceptable limit. Therefore, it is advised to avoid overuse of these products in order to ensure human safety and reduce the risks to skin health.