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Paraben Paradox

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Paraben Paradox

Parabens are preservatives used in a variety of personal care, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, food products. Studies have confirmed the ubiquitous presence of parabens, with levels detected in wastewater, rivers, soil and house dust. Parabens have also been detected in human tissues and bodily fluids. Parabens are popular preservatives because of their low toxicity and cost, their broad inertness, and their worldwide regulatory acceptance (Soni et al. 2005). Methyl paraben (MP) and propyl paraben (PP) are two of the most used parabens (Andersen 2008).
Parabens easily penetrate the skin. The European Commission on Endocrine Disruption has listed parabens as Category 1 priority substances, based on evidence that they interfere with hormone function. Parabens can mimic estrogen, the primary female sex hormone. They have been detected in human breast cancer tissues, suggesting a possible association between parabens in cosmetics and cancer. It has been estimated that women are exposed to 50 mg per day of parabens from cosmetics.
However, studies investigating the health effects of parabens are conflicting. There are no restrictions on the use of parabens in cosmetics in Canada, whereas International regulations are stronger. The European Union restricts the concentration of parabens in cosmetics.
Parabens are typically used at levels between 0.01% and 0.3% and have been deemed safe in cosmetics at levels as high as 25%, the FDA official stance is that currently there’s no reason for consumers to be worried about using cosmetics that contain parabens. However, the FDA continues to evaluate the chemicals.
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has recommended butyl paraben (BP) for toxicologic evaluation because of its widespread use, its potential reproductive toxicity, and the lack of adequate toxicologic data. Furthermore, scientific committee on consumer product (SCCP) recently concluded that the safety assessment of propyl paraben (PP) and butyl paraben (BP) could not yet be finalized on the basis of available data (SCCP 2008).

References:

1) Dorota Błędzka, Jolanta Gromadzińska, WojciechWąsowicz (2014) Parabens From environmental studies to human health. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412014000579

Abstract: The preservatives were detected in human serum, milk, placental tissue and breast tumour tissue. Parabens at concentration levels detected in human breast tissue were found to induce proliferation of cells in vitro, in particular when present in mixtures. Therefore, it does not seem reasonable to neglect the possible involvement of parabens in the process of carcinogenesis. Further research, including large sample size studies involving humans are necessary to assess possible adverse effects of parabens. Additionally, the influence of parabens on other steroid sensitive tissues, in particular those within the immune and the central nervous system should be tested.

2) Liao C1, Liu F, Kannan K. (2013) - Occurrence of and dietary exposure to parabens in foodstuffs from the United States. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23506043
Abstract: In this study, 267 US food samples were analysed for five parabens: methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, butyl- and benzylparaben. Over 90% of the food samples contained measurable concentrations of parabens. The researchers estimated the daily intake of parabens through diet, determining that the highest doses go to the youngest members of society, who are also likely to be at greatest risk from the effects of exposure to potential endocrine-disrupting chemicals. However, from exposure measurements it is difficult to know how much of this quantity of paraben gets into the body intact, making it very difficult to predict actual exposure to these chemicals.

3) Kang S1, Kim S, Park J, Kim HJ, Lee J, Choi G, Choi S, Kim S, Kim SY, Moon HB, Kim S, Kho YL, Choi K. (2013). Urinary paraben concentrations among pregnant women and their matching newborn infants of Korea, and the association with oxidative stress biomarkers. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23727995
Abstract: This is the first study that reported the levels of major parabens in the first urine of newborn infants. It was designed to determine urinary paraben levels among pregnant women and their matching newborn infants (<48 h after delivery), and the association between paraben levels and stress markers. The ratios of infant to maternal urinary paraben concentrations varied between 0.5 and 0.6 for methyl paraben (MP) and n-propyl paraben (PP), but approximately 10 fold lower for ethyl paraben (EP). Urinary MP or EP levels were associated with several oxidative stress related biomarkers such as urinary 8-OHdG and MDA, even after the adjustment of relevant covariates such as maternal age, mode of delivery, pre-pregnancy BMI, gestational age and parity.
Further studies are warranted to understand the implications of paraben exposure among biologically susceptible human populations.

4) Govindaraj Shanmugama, Babu Rajendran Ramaswamya, , Vijayalakshimi Radhakrishnana, Hiroaki Taob (2010) GC–MS method for the determination of paraben preservatives in the human breast cancerous tissue. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0026265X10001438
Abstract: In this study a new method was developed for the identification and quantification of the preservatives such as methyl paraben (MeP), ethyl paraben (EtP), propyl paraben (PrP) and butyl paraben (BuP) in breast tissue using Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS). The method was successfully validated for the determination of parabens including butyl paraben in cancerous breast tissues; this could be a promising one for screening of breast tissues and also the environment for paraben residues. This is the first GC–MS method for the determination of parabens in human tissue. 5) Ge JH1, Chang B. Estrogenic activities of parabens (2006). Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17086725
Abstract: Studies indicated that parabens, used as anti-microbial agents in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals, produced a positive uterotrophic response in vivo. They also damaged the late stages of spermatogenesis, altered proportion of pups born alive, and body weight of offspring. They reduced the number of sperm in the epididymis, and the sperm motile activity in male offspring. The studies demonstrated parabens were weakly estrogenic.

6) Mark G. Kirchhof, MD, PhD. Gilian C. de Gannes, MD, MSC, FRCPC (2013) – The health controversies of parabens. Retrieved from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/780590_1
Abstract: The expectation of long shelf lives and microorganisms free consumer products mandates the use of preservatives. Parabens have been used for over 80 years, and despite reports of adverse reactions, they have proven to be amongst the safest and most well tolerated preservatives. Although the possible association parabens with decreased sperm quality and breast cancer does warrant continued examination, the current data does not support drastic regulations or personal restrictions to exposure. Furthermore, reported paraben exposure and tissue levels did not correlate with tumor location, estrogen, or any attribute of breast cancer, so it is difficult to say this anything more than a hypothesis at this point.

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