Concern is continuously raised about the safety of
parabens which are present in most of the cosmetic preparations. In this investigation, methyl-, ethyl-, propyl- and
butyl paraben (MP, EP, PP, BP), in a commercial cosmetic lotion, were deposited on
human skin fragments, collected after
surgical operations. Permeated
parabens were determined after their passage through human epidermis-dermis layers, fixed on Franz
diffusion cells.
Bovine serum albumin (3%) was employed as receptor fluid. Then,
parabens were assessed by
liquid chromatography. The objective of this research was to determine the permeation of these molecules through human epidermis-dermis layers, and their possible passage to
body tissues and/or accumulation in
skin layers. Two groups of experiments were performed. In the first experimental group (G1), unique doses of the cosmetic were deposited on
skin fragments fixed on Franz cells (n = 6), at time 0 h, followed with different withdrawn times of the receptor fluid at 12, 24 and 36 h. G1 results demonstrated that
parabens penetration was influenced by their lipophilicity: more lipophilic the
parabens were (BP > PP > EP > MP), less they crossed the
skin layers (BP < PP < EP < MP). The second experimental group (G2) was constituted of three equal deposits on each Franz cell (n = 6) at different hour times 0, 12 and 24 h followed with three withdrawn times of the receptor fluid at 12, 24 and 36 h. The G2 results indicated that investigated
parabens had significant increasing permeations in
skin layers. This situation provokes the accumulation of these molecules which were considered by some authors as the cause of
skin toxicities and
carcinogenicity.
