The Toxicological Risk Assessment of Dermal Exposure of Patients Exposed to Nickel and Chromium due to Application of Ointments with Marjoram Herb Extract (Majoranae Herbae Extractum) Available in Polish Pharmacies

Abstract

For elemental impurities that have been studied for transcutaneous absorption, the available data are rarely suitable for proper toxicological risk assessment — there are multiple factors that can influence this dermal absorption. Hence, in our studies, we applied generic and conservative approach — cutaneous permitted daily exposure (CPDE) described in International Conference on Harmonisation’s Q3D Guideline on Elemental Impurities (ICH Q3D). The aim of this article is toxicological risk assessment (TRA) of dermal exposure of patients exposed to nickel and chromium due to application of ointments with Marjoram herb extract (Majoranae herbae extractum) available in Polish pharmacies (n = 5, because only five manufacturers produce this kind of pharmaceutical products in Poland). To make the appropriate TRA approach, we considered (1) raw results (metal per kg of ointment), (2) one-time administration of applied ointments, and (3) daily exposure versus CPDE. Due to the fact the concentrations of Ni generally present in cutaneous products as impurities are not considered sufficient to induce sensitization, the cutaneous and transcutaneous concentration limits (CTCLs) approach was applied for this element assessment. The toxicological analysis was carried out using microwave-assisted wet digestion with concentrated nitric acid and electrothermal atomization atomic absorption spectrometry. Our results show that the ointments with Marjoram herb extract from pharmacies in Poland represent a potential health hazard to patients; however, there may be a requirement for the monitoring of impurities of nickel in future. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first study about nickel and chromium content in ointments with Marjoram herb extract (Majoranae herbae extractum).