Application of in vitro methods to evaluate the safety of baby care products

Abstract

Draize rabbit eye irritation and skin irritation tests are widely used in the chemical industry as traditional methods to evaluate the safety of cosmetics. However, great differences among laboratories have caused great doubt in the industry. In addition, with vigorous development of the global animal protection movement, developed countries have launched the “3R” campaign, and various kinds of in vitro alternative methods have emerged. Hen's egg test on the chorioallantoic membrane (HET-CAM), which is similar to the structure of the human cornea and has a clear and complete vascular system, is based on the characteristics of the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) in mid-term SPF egg embryos. The reconstructed human epidermis (EpiSkin®) is composed of normal human keratinocytes that are histologically similar to human epidermises seen in vivo, and it is cultured on a collagen matrix. Similar to EpiSkin®, Human Corneal Epithelium (SkinEthic™) is another reconstructed 3D human-corneal structure that is an alternative to the traditional eye irritation test. Three in vitro methods were conducted to evaluate the safety of 12 baby care products, which included the most common types. In addition, a consumer research study was also carried out for two weeks to evaluate the safety. The results of the reconstructed human epidermis model, human corneal epithelium model and consumer research showed that no irritation was found in any test products; however, HET-CAM tests showed positive results.