Ingredients In Personal Care Products Research Articles

Effects of triclosan and triclocarban on denitrification and N2O emissions in paddy soil

Triclosan (TCS) and triclocarban (TCC) are two common antimicrobial compounds, which are widely used as ingredients in pharmaceuticals and personal care products. They occur ubiquitously in soil due to biosolid application as agricultural fertilizers, but their influence on microbially mediated soil biogeochemical processes is poorly understood. We tested the effects of varying concentrations of TCS and TCC applied both individually and together on denitrification and N2O emissions in paddy soil. We also quantified denitrification functional gene abundances by q-PCR to elucidate the microbial mechanisms of TCS and TCC's effects. Our results showed that TCS and TCC exposure both individually and together significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited denitrification (7.0–36.7%) and N2O emissions (15.4–86.4%) except for the 0.01 mg kg−1 TCC treatment in which denitrification was slightly but significantly (p < 0.05) stimulated. The inhibitory effects of TCS and TCC exposure were mainly attributed to their negative net effects on denitrifying bacteria as suggested by the decrease in abundances of 16S rRNA, narG, nirK and clade I nosZ genes in the TCS and TCC treatments. Overall, we found that TCS and TCC exposure in paddy soil could substantially alter nitrogen cycling in rice paddy ecosystems by inhibiting denitrification and N2O emissions. These effects should be taken into consideration when evaluating the environmental impacts of TCS and TCC.

Miniaturized Matrix Solid-Phase Dispersion for the Analysis of Ultraviolet Filters and Other Cosmetic Ingredients in Personal Care Products

A method based on micro-matrix solid-phase dispersion (μ-MSPD) followed by gas-chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC–MS/MS) was developed to analyze UV filters in personal care products. It is the first time that MSPD is employed to extract UV filters from cosmetics samples. This technique provides efficient and low-cost extractions, and allows performing extraction and clean-up in one step, which is one of their main advantages. The amount of sample employed was only 0.1 g and the extraction procedure was performed preparing the sample-sorbent column in a glass Pasteur pipette instead of the classic plastic columns in order to avoid plastizicer contamination. Factors affecting the process such as type of sorbent, and amount and type of elution solvent were studied by a factorial design. The method was validated and extended to other families of cosmetic ingredients such as fragrance allergens, preservatives, plasticizers and synthetic musks, including a total of 78 target analytes. Recovery studies in real sample at several concentration levels were also performed. Finally, the green extraction methodology was applied to the analysis of real cosmetic samples of different nature.

Organic ultraviolet (UV) filters in the South China sea coastal region: Environmental occurrence, toxicological effects and risk assessment

Organic ultraviolet (UV) filters are common ingredients of personal care products and occur ubiquitously in the aquatic environment; however, little is known about their distribution in and potential effects to the marine environment. This study reports the occurrence, toxicological effects and risk assessment of eleven commonly consumed UV filters in marine surface water collected from the South China Sea (SCS) coastal region. The concentrations of UV filters ranged from <MDL to 145 ng/L in the SCS, in which benzophenone-3, octocrylene and butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane were the most dominant compounds with their detection frequencies over 97%. Relatively higher levels of total UV filters were found near the highly industrialized and urbanized Pearl River Estuary (PRE) and the concentrations gradually decreased towards the SCS. In general, the environmental levels of UV filters were higher at the western marine waters in Hong Kong than the eastern marine waters. Significant negative correlations were observed between benzophenone-4 and water temperature, as well as ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate and salinity (P < 0.001; r < -0.5). Immobilization test of barnacle nauplius larvae (Balanus amphitrite) was conducted to assess the acute toxicity of organic UV filters to marine organisms. Benzophenone-8 and 4-methylbenzylidene camphor showed relatively higher toxicity with the 50% effect concentrations (EC50) of 2.2 and 3.9 mg/L, respectively. A preliminary risk assessment was conducted by the results obtained from our field and laboratory studies. Results showed that the risk to cause immobilization in barnacle nauplius larvae in associated with exposure to current levels of organic UV filters in the SCS was minimal.

Phase Behavior of Ester Based Anionic Surfactants: Sodium Alkyl Sulfoacetates

Ester based anionic surfactant—sodium lauryl sulfoacetate (SLSA)—is one of the most important surface-active ingredients in several personal care products however no scientific report is available regarding its lyotropic and thermotropic phase behavior in water. In the present study, SLSA and its congener sodium myristyl sulfoacetate (SMSA) are investigated for their self-aggregation properties in aqueous system. Phase transition temperature of these surfactant–water mixtures is determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Their lyotropic and thermotropic phase behavior in water are investigated by polarized optical microscopy (POM), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS). These surfactants predominantly exist as different types of self-assembled lamellar phases along with or without solid crystalline phases in aqueous system.

Polyethylene glycol 400 significantly enhances the stimulation of 2-phenoxyethanol on Vibrio qinghaiensis sp.-Q67 bioluminescence

Previous studies demonstrated long-term stimulation of some commercial personal care products (PCPs) on freshwater luminescent bacteria Vibrio qinghaiensis sp.-Q67 (Q67). However, whether a certain component can affect mixture's hormetic effect is still unknown. In this paper, two of ingredients in PCPs, 2-phenoxyethanol (PhE) and polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG400), were selected as object compounds to explore the relationship between concentration-response (CR) of mixtures and that of a single component. It was found that PEG400 has monotonic CR (MCR) on Q67 both at the short-term (0.25 h) and long-term (12 h) exposures while PhE has MCR at 0.25 h and hormetic CR (HCR) at 12 h. Here, the concentration-response curves (CRCs) of PEG400 at 0.25 and 12 h are overlapped each other and the CRCs of PEG400 are on the right of PhE. If the pEC50 is taken as a toxic index, the toxicities of PEG400 at two times are basically the same, and those of PhE are the same, too, but PhE is twice as toxic as PEG400. For the mixtures of PEG400 and PhE, all rays except R1 have MCRs at 0.25 h while all rays have HCRs at 12 h where the higher the mixture ratio of PhE is, the more negative the maximum stimulation effect is. More importantly, the Emin values of all rays are more negative (1.79–3.17-fold) than that of PhE worked alone, which implies that the introduction of PEG400 significantly enhances stimulative effect of PhE. At 0.25 h, all binary mixture rays but R1 produce a low-concentration additive action and high-concentration synergism. At 12 h, all rays display additive action, antagonism, additive action, and synergism in turn when the concentration changes from low to high. The overall findings suggested toxicological interactions should be considered in the risk assessment of PCPs and their potential impacts on ecological balances.

Possible involvement of Fas/FasL-dependent apoptotic pathway in α-bisabolol induced cardiotoxicity in zebrafish embryos

α-Bisabolol, an unsaturated monocyclic sesquiterpene alcohol, is a common ingredient in many pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). Despite being widely used, little is known about its toxic effects on organisms and aquatic environment. In this study, we investigated the developmental toxicity of α-Bisabolol, especially its effects on the cardiac development using zebrafish embryos as a model. Embryos at 4 h post-fertilization (hpf) were exposed to 10, 30, 50, 70, 90, and 100 μM α-Bisabolol until 144 hpf. α-Bisabolol caused phenotypic defects and the most striking one is the heart malformation. Treatment of α-Bisabolol significantly increased the cardiac malformation rate, the SV-BA distance, as well as the pericardial edema area, and reduced heart rate in a concentration-dependent manner. Notably, considerable numbers of apoptotic cells were mainly observed in the heart region of zebrafish treated with α-Bisabolol. Further study on α-Bisabolol induced apoptosis in the zebrafsh heart suggested that an activation of Fas/FasL-dependent apoptotic pathway. Taken together, our study investigated the cardiotoxicity of α-Bisabolol on zebrafish embryonic development and its underlying molecular mechanism, shedding light on the full understanding of α-Bisabolol toxicity on living organisms and its environmental impact.

Exposure to selected preservatives in personal care products: case study comparison of exposure models and observational biomonitoring data

Exposure models provide critical information for risk assessment of personal care product ingredients, but there have been limited opportunities to compare exposure model predictions to observational exposure data. Urinary excretion data from a biomonitoring study in eight individuals were used to estimate minimum absorbed doses for triclosan and methyl-, ethyl-, and n-propyl- parabens (TCS, MP, EP, PP). Three screening exposure models (European Commission Scientific Commission on Consumer Safety [SCCS] algorithms, ConsExpo in deterministic mode, and RAIDAR-ICE) and two higher-tier probabilistic models (SHEDS-HT, and Creme Care & Cosmetics) were used to model participant exposures. Average urinary excretion rates of TCS, MP, EP, and PP for participants using products with those ingredients were 16.9, 3.32, 1.9, and 0.91 μg/kg-d, respectively. The SCCS default aggregate and RAIDAR-ICE screening models generally resulted in the highest predictions compared to other models. Approximately 60–90% of the model predictions for most of the models were within a factor of 10 of the observed exposures; ~30–40% of the predictions were within a factor of 3. Estimated exposures from urinary data tended to fall in the upper range of predictions from the probabilistic models. This analysis indicates that currently available exposure models provide estimates that are generally realistic. Uncertainties in preservative product concentrations and dermal absorption parameters as well as degree of metabolism following dermal absorption influence interpretation of the modeled vs. measured exposures. Use of multiple models may help characterize potential exposures more fully than reliance on a single model.

Fate and effects of sediment-associated polycyclic musk HHCB in subtropical freshwater microcosms

Galaxolide (HHCB) is used as a fragrance ingredient in household and personal care products, and has been ubiquitously detected in the environment. Here we investigated the fate of HHCB in subtropical freshwater microcosms, and evaluated effects of sediment-associated HHCB on a biological community consisting of algae, Daphnia, benthic macroinvertebrates and bacteria. The concentrations of sediment-associated HHCB did not change significantly during a 28 days exposure period, but HHCB accumulated in worms with biota-sediment accumulation-factor (BSAF) values in the range of 0.29–0.66 for Branchiura sowerbyi and 0.94–2.11 for Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri. There was no significant effects of HHCB (30 μg/g dry weight (dw) sediment) on chlorophyll-a content, sediment bacterial community composition, and survival and growth of benthic macroinvertebrates. However, the presence of benthic macroinvertebrates altered the sediment bacterial community structure relative to microcosms without introduced organisms. The findings of this study suggest that a single high-dose of HHCB, over 28 days, at environmentally relevant concentrations would not impose direct toxicological risks to aquatic organisms such as benthic macroinvertebrates.

Ecotoxicity variation through parabens degradation by single and catalytic ozonation using volcanic rock

Parabens are widely used as antimicrobial and preservative ingredients in pharmaceutical and personal care products. Nevertheless, these compounds have been increasingly seen as emerging contaminants that can be toxic to a wide range of species. In this study, the toxic effect of a mixture of parabens (10 mg/L of each paraben: methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, benzyl- and butylparaben) and its degradation products through single and catalytic ozonation (using volcanic rock as low-cost catalyst) was investigated over several non-target species: cladocerans, microalgae, clams, macrophytes and cress. The analysis of the toxicity of parabens mixture is relevant since usually these compounds are used as blends rather than individually. While parabens were totally removed both by single and catalytic ozonation the toxicity of the samples resulting from both treatments was generally high. This toxicity was still compared to the one obtained for several dilutions of the initial parabens mixture and it was concluded that the by-products formed are more toxic than the most diluted parabens mixture sample (0.625 mg/L). While catalytic ozonation allows reducing the amount of ozone (about 3-fold) required for total removal of parabens, the resulting treated solution was more toxic than the sample taken at the endpoint of the single ozonation treatment. This suggests that the highest amount of ozone used for single ozonation allowed the elimination of toxic by-products such as hydroquinone and 1,4-benzoquinone. Still, the effect of by-products and parabens interaction depends on the species analyzed due to their different tolerances to potentially toxic products.

Toxicological effects of two organic ultraviolet filters and a related commercial sunscreen product in adult corals

Corals are exposed to organic ultraviolet (UV) filters and other personal care product (PCP) ingredients in the environment, but the toxicities of organic UV filters and their related PCP to corals are not well understood. In this study, 7-day exposures were conducted to evaluate the toxicities and bioaccumulation of two organic UV filters, ethylhexylmethoxy-cinnamate (EHMC; octinoxate) and octocrylene (OC) (single- and combined-chemical tests), and diluted sunscreen wash-off water containing both active ingredients to the adult life stage of two hard coral species, Seriatopora caliendrum and Pocillopora damicornis. In the single-chemical tests, death (33.3%) and bleaching (83.3%) were only observed in the 1000 μg/L EHMC treatment of S. caliendrum. In the sunscreen product exposures, 5% sunscreen water (containing 422.34 ± 37.34 μg/L of EHMC and 33.50 ± 7.60 μg/L of OC at Day 0) caused high mortality in S. caliendrum (66.7–83.3%) and P. damicornis (33.3–50%), and tissue concentrations were up to 10 times greater than in the single-chemical exposures; co-exposure to EHMC and OC at similar levels to those in the sunscreen product resulted in bioaccumulation similar to the single-chemical tests. These results confirm the bioaccumulation potential of EHMC and OC and show that other ingredients in sunscreen products may increase the bioavailability of active ingredients to corals and exacerbate the toxicity of sunscreen products. Future studies on the toxicities of PCPs to aquatic organisms should not only focus on the toxicities of active ingredients.

Transport of pollution from the megacity Jakarta into the ocean: Insights from organic pollutant mass fluxes along the Ciliwung River

As with other emerging economies, the rapid economic development of Indonesia has led to a migration towards the cities. The coastal megacity Jakarta is one of the largest urban agglomerations worldwide. The uncontrolled increase in urban population results in increased pressure on public infrastructure such as sewage treatment facilities leading to severe pollution of surface waters. In this study, a mass flux approach was used to assess the transport of organic pollutants by the largest city bound river of Jakarta, the Ciliwung, into the adjacent coastal ecosystem. Mass flux approaches are useful to track the origin and transport of wastewater-borne pollution, but are mostly neglected in favor of solely concentration-based evaluations.Constituents of municipal sewage made up around 70–80% of the fluxes of the 32 quantified water pollutants. Personal care product ingredients, especially the insect repellent N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET), exhibited the highest fluxes. Our first assessment revealed that the Ciliwung River transports around 5–17 tons year−1 of the quantified pollutants into the Java Sea. Such huge pollutant fluxes from municipal sources -a problem that is also relevant in other coastal megacities-might severely affect vulnerable coastal habitats.

Personal care products reconnaissance in EVROTAS river (Greece): Water-sediment partition and bioaccumulation in fish

Twenty-six common ingredients of personal care products (PCPs) in water, sediment and fish from the Evrotas River (Greece) were investigated. Water sample analysis revealed the occurrence of twenty PCPs at concentrations ranging from 2.8 to 2031.0 ng l−1, the maximum corresponding to the endocrine disrupting UV filter benzophenone 3 (BP3). In sediment samples, six compounds were found to be adsorbed, the highest concentration being that of 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4MBC, 1400.4 ng g−1 dw). Evrotas cyprinid fish (Squalius keadicus) showed a high accumulation potential for these chemicals, 100% detection frequency with maximum concentration that of benzophenone 2 (BP2, 41.9 ng g−1 dw). These data allowed estimating the distribution coefficients sediment-water (DCs-w) and the bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) of the pollutants investigated. Calculated rates revealed that benzophenone 1 (BP1), 4-hydroxybenzophenone (4HB) and ethyl-4-(dimethyl-amino)benzoate (EtPABA) have a strong tendency to adsorb onto the sediments, showing high DCs-w, i.e. 8.2E + 4 l g−1, 6.7E + 4 l g−1 and 5.7E + 3 l g−1, respectively. BFAs were only estimated for 5-methyl benzotriazole (MeBT), the compound having paired data from fish and water. The obtained values (range 2.0E + 2 l g−1–3.8E + 3 l g−1), indicated MeBT's strong bioaccumulation. Risk assessment of the investigated compounds for several aquatic organisms indicated a high ecological risk (HQ > 1) for BP3 and medium ecological risk (HQ ~ 0.5) for ODPABA.

Spreading behavior of cosmetic emulsions: Impact of the oil phase

BackgroundEmollients are an important ingredient in personal care products, they are currently prescribed in skin disorders like eczema, which affects up to 30% of children in developed countries. MethodsThe aim of the study was to investigate the impact of two emollients (stearic acid and isohexadecane) and their mixtures in the spreadability and frictional effect on films obtained from oil-in-water emulsions. Rheological, textural, sensory and tribological analysis were performed on human skin and artificial substrates. ResultsThe emollients ratio influences the spreading behavior of emulsions: more isohexadecane in the oil phase easier to spread the product on the skin. Moreover, significant correlations were obtained for the spreading behavior obtained by textural measurements on artificial substrates and sensory analysis (Pearson coefficient = −0.871). The results obtained by frictiometer showed different developments over time after product application: the friction values increase with the stearic acid concentration in emulsion. DiscussionThis study showed the importance to consider the emollient properties when one emollient is used in the emulsion, but especially their interactions, when several emollients are used, to better understand and anticipate their behavior. First, spreading was governed by the consistency of the emulsion, particularly impacted by the emollients ratio. But then, in a long-time spreading, when the emulsion broke down and residual film was formed, a particular interaction with skin influenced the spreadability. It appears that not only the physical state of the emollient but also its chemical nature, physical state, polarity, temperature might explain these phenomena.

Occurrence of benzophenones, parabens and triclosan in the Yangtze River of China, and the implications for human exposure

Humans could be exposed to ingredients in personal care products (PCPs) via ingestion of water originated from contaminated water source, yet little attention has been focused on the distribution of benzophenones, parabens and triclosan in the Yangtze River water from China so far. Benzophenones, parabens and triclosan were analyzed in the water samples from 20 various sites in the middle reach of the Yangtze River, China from March to July, and September during 2015. Among the targeted compounds, p-hydroxybenzoic acid (PHBA, a paraben metabolite) was found with the highest concentration (median: 510 ng/L), followed by benzophenone-1 (2.79 ng/L), methylparaben (MeP, median 2.72 ng/L) and triclosan (median: 1.85 ng/L). Significant differences were observed in seasonal variations for most observed compounds. Parabens and benzophenones showed higher concentrations in spring while triclosan and PHBA showed higher concentration in summer. Spatial variations of benzophenone-1 were observed among 20 sampling sites, whereas other benzophenones, parabens and triclosan distributed evenly comparatively. Human exposure assessment showed higher estimated daily intake of the detected compounds for infants and toddlers from water than adults, implicating that infants may experience a higher exposed risk than adults. This study provides evidence that parabens, benzophenones and triclosan commonly occurred in the Yangtze River.

The occurrence of home and personal care products in the Haihe River catchment and estimation of human exposure

A sub-catchment of the Haihe River basin goes through the Beijing-Tianjin region with a population of 26 million, therefore, the use and release of home and personal care product ingredients (HPCPs) to the river catchment could be potentially substantial. Many HPCPs have been shown to be toxic to human and animals. So, it is essential to know the exposure level of HPCPs in the river basin. The average concentrations of five preservatives, three disinfectants and an antioxidant were found to be 398, 352 and 77.7 ng L−1, respectively, in the dry season. The chemical concentrations in the effluents of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and untreated wastewater discharge were respectively ca. 1.3–2.2 and 1.6–7.5 times higher than those in river water. The mass flux of ∑HPCPs has been estimated to be 8.7 g/h at the outfall of the Shahe Reservoir and 181 g/h and 214 g/h at the estuary of the Haihe River and Yongdingxin River to Bohai Bay, respectively. The attenuation of ∑HPCPs was over 79% along the Wenyu River. By using the backward method, the estimated average loadings to WWTPs ranged from 0.51 to 2.0 mg/day/cap for the various individual compounds. They were 1–3 orders of magnitude higher than the estimation from the forward calculation for parabens. This indicates the possible underestimation of chemical usage and human exposure levels by the current published studies or the probably additional industrial release to the target catchment. Such a study provides useful information for the development of chemical management approaches and indicates that further research is needed to improve the estimation of HPCPs usage and emissions to aquatic environment.

Diurnal patterns of micropollutants concentrations in domestic greywater

ABSTRACTIn recent years, much interest has been given to presence of micropollutants in municipal wastewater, some of which are suspected to be endocrine disruptors, toxic or carcinogenic. Much less attention has been paid to their presence in greywater. The present research studies the diurnal patterns of micropollutants in greywater and computes their daily loads. Monitoring was carried-out using auto-controlled sampling system, designed to overcome the erratic greywater generation. Two main generation periods were identified: morning (5:00–11:00) and evening-night (18:00–2:00), contributing about 20% and >50% of daily greywater discharge, respectively. Average specific daily greywater discharge was 57 L p−1d−1, which matches reported value for greywater generated by showers and washbasins in Israel. The most frequently detected micropollutants in this study were methylparben (preservative), galaxolide (fragrance) and oxybenzone (UV-filter), which are common ingredients in many personal care-products. Their daily loads were 2, 840, 1, 887 and 728 µg p−1d−1, respectively.

Determination of hazardous ingredients in personal care products using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

In the present work, the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy technique is applied to explore the concentration of toxic elements present in cosmetic materials. The elemental analysis of chromium (Cr), magnesium (Mg), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) are selected as major elements and manganese (Mn), sodium (Na), potassium (P), sulfur (S), silicon (Si) and titanium (Ti) as minor elements in cosmetic products. In this technique, a plasma plume is generated by using an Nd:YAG Laser of 532 nm wavelength and spectral lines for the respective samples are observed. Four different samples of cosmetic products are selected, i.e. two samples for lipstick and two for eyeshadow. The observed spectral lines of all major and minor elements are used to calculate their concentration in all samples through the intensity ratio method. Among selected lipstick and eyeshadow samples, one sample is branded, and one is collected from the local market. It is observed that chromium, magnesium and lead have strong spectral lines and consequently show high concentration. The calculated concentrations are then compared to permissible limits set by the Food and Drug Administration with regard to the cosmetics industry. The concentration of these toxic elements in selected local cosmetic samples exceeds the safe permissible limit for human use and could lead to serious health problems.

Simple method for the determination of personal care product ingredients in lettuce by ultrasound-assisted extraction combined with solid-phase microextraction followed by GC-MS.

A simple method for the simultaneous determination of personal care product ingredients: galaxolide, tonalide, oxybenzone, 4-methylbenzyliden camphor, padimate-o, 2-ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, octocrylene, triclosan, and methyl triclosan in lettuce by ultrasound-assisted extraction combined with solid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry was developed. Lettuce was directly extracted by ultrasound-assisted extraction with methanol, this extract was combined with water, extracted by solid-phase microextraction in immersion mode, and analyzed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. Good linear relationships (25-250ng/g, R2 >0.9702) and low detection limits (1.0-25ng/g) were obtained for analytes along with acceptable precision for almost all analytes (RSDs<20%). The validated method was applied for the determination of personal care product ingredients in commercial lettuce and lettuces grown in soil and irrigated with the analytes, identifying the target analytes in leaves and roots of the latter. This procedure is a miniaturized and environmentally friendly proposal which can be a useful tool for quality analysis in lettuce.

Determination of Personal Care Products in Fish Tissue Based on Matrix Solid-Phase Dispersion Combined with Programmable Split/Splitless Injector Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

An analytical method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination in fish muscle of two kinds of emerging pollutants: polycyclic aromatic musks (galaxolide and tonalide) and UV filters [oxybenzone, 3-(4-methylbenzylidene) camphor, padimate-O, 2-ethylhexyl 4-methoxycinnamate, octocrylene], which are very common ingredients of personal care products, by programmable split/splitless injector gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (PSSI-GC-MS) using a matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) for extraction and clean-up procedure in a single step. The method was evaluated for precision (relative standard deviation 0.9829); accuracy, reported as % of recovery; limit of quantification (0.013 to 0.040 μg g−1, referred to dry mass); and limit of detection (0.004 to 0.012 μg g−1, referred to dry mass) for each of the analytes. The average recoveries in muscle samples spiked at two levels: 0.1 μg g-1 and 1.0 μg g-1 ranged between 77–111% and 55–108%, respectively. The method was applied for the determination of the mentioned pollutants in an exposure in vivo study with rainbow trout, and the results showed a larger absorption of musks (tonalide 43.0 μg g−1) than UV filters (padimate-O, 1.0 μg g−1). The proposed procedure has demonstrated to be able for simultaneous monitoring of these two different kinds of common emerging pollutants coming from personal care products, which would make it a useful tool for quality control and safety studies.

Equol’s Anti-Aging Effects Protect against Environmental Assaults by Increasing Skin Antioxidant Defense and ECM Proteins While Decreasing Oxidative Stress and Inflammation

Environmental pollutants represent a major problem worldwide that cannot be passively avoided. It is known that skin sensitivities can result from environmental assaults, such as toxins and pollutants in air and water. Additionally, dermal assaults from wind and exposure to seasonal cold temperatures are known. All of these environmental assaults are associated with oxidative stress and the intracellular generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which damage DNA, lipids, proteins and mitochondrial function. Additionally, the influence of diet on dermal health and, especially, antioxidant defense in skin function are well established. In this regard, environmental pollution worldwide has generated a high demand for anti-pollution personal care products to protect the skin against the daily exposure of airborne toxins and various other assaults. Major cosmetic companies have anti-pollution personal care products but, in general, the products are formulated with commonly used active ingredients that have been retooled with market strategies to address current environmental pollution treatments. Equol is a new botanical active ingredient compound for skin applications. It has a polyphenolic chemical structure found in plant and food products, and is also classified as an isoflavonoid. Moreover, equol appears to address the need for an active ingredient in personal care products to protect against pollution assaults by increasing antioxidant defense, while inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammation. Separate sections covering equol’s enhanced (a) delivery mechanism into human skin; (b) antioxidant effects via Nrf2 activation; (c) effects on extracellular matrix proteins like collagen and elastin and; (d) protection against oxidative stress and inflammation are presented.