Parabens are alkyl ester compounds of p-hydroxy benzoic acid and are widely used as preservatives in many pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCP), foodstuffs etc. Four parabens methyparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben and butylparaben are found to be most widely used parabens in products of daily human use. Butylparaben is found to show stronger estrogenic response compared to rest o...

A study of the diffusion of parabens from topical formulations is presented here. In particular, four different topical formulations, namely, a water-in-oil emulsion, an oil-in-water emulsion, and two hydrophilic gels (Pemulen gel and Carbopol gel) were produced, containing a mixture of three common parabens, namely, methylparaben (MP), ethylparaben (EP), and propylparaben (PP). An analytical m...

This toxicology update reviews research over the past four years since publication in 2004 of the 1⁄4rst measurement of intact esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (parabens) in human breast cancer tissues, and the suggestion that their presence in the human body might originate from topical application of bodycare cosmetics. The presence of intact paraben esters in human body tissues has now been c...

Parabens are effective preservatives widely used in cosmetic products and processed food, with high human exposure. Recent evidence suggests that parabens exert estrogenic effects. This work investigated the potential interference of parabens with the estrogen-activating enzyme 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17β-HSD) 1 and the estrogen-inactivating 17β-HSD2. A ligand-based 17β-HSD2 pharmacop...

This study investigated the removal of parabens, N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET), and phthalates by ozonation. The second-order rate constants for the reaction between selected compounds with ozone at pH 7 were of (2.2 +/-0.2) X 10(6) to (2.9 +/-0.3) X 10(6) M 1/s for parabens, (2.1+/- 0.3) to (3.9 +/-0.5) M-1/s for phthalates, and (5.2 +/-0.3) M-1/s for DEET. The rate constants for the reaction...

A stability-indicating, robust, fast, and user friendly reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) assay method has been developed and validated for the analysis of commercial raw material batches of methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben. These four parabens are widely used as preservatives in pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. Accurate assay valu...

Human exposure to parabens as a preservative used in personal care products is of increasing concern, as there is evidence from in vivo and in vitro studies of hormone disruption in association with exposure to parabens. Transport across the placenta could be critical for risk assessment, but the available data are sparse. The aim is to develop a method for estimating fetal exposure, via the pl...

Parabens are widely used as preservatives in many foods, cosmetics, toiletries, and pharmaceuticals due to their relatively low toxicity profile and to a long history of safe use. Parabens are alkyl esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid and typically include methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, isobutylparaben, isopropylparaben and benzylparaben. These compounds are known to have...

With effective antibacterial and antifungal properties, commercially used parabens are synthetic compounds widely utilized as preservatives in cosmetics, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and as an additive in some foodstuffs. While long regarded as relatively safe and nontoxic, recent research has demonstrated xenoestrogenic properties of anthropogenic parabens with early evidence that ...