Quantitative Estimation of the Hydroquinone, Mercury and Total Plate Count in Skin-Lightening Creams

Mehreen Arshad, Yumna Sadef, Muhammad Bilal Shakoor, Muhammad Naeem, Farzana Bashir, Sajid Rashid Ahmad, Shafaqat Ali, Irfan Abid, Naeem Khan and Mohammed Nasser Alyemeni
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Mehreen Arshad: College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Yumna Sadef: College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Muhammad Bilal Shakoor: College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Muhammad Naeem: Pakistan Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (PCSIR) Laboratories, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Farzana Bashir: Pakistan Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (PCSIR) Laboratories, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Sajid Rashid Ahmad: College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Shafaqat Ali: Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Government College University, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Irfan Abid: Adjunct Faculty Military College of Engineering, Risalpur 23200, Pakistan
Naeem Khan: Department of Agronomy, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Mohammed Nasser Alyemeni: Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 16, 1-13

Abstract: Generally white color of the skin is regarded as a feature of superiority and prettiness around the world. Both the males and females in Pakistan apply skin-lightening creams (SLC) but they do not know about the side-effects of their constituents. Skin-lightening products include SLC and related ointments. The SLC are made by mixing fates and water in standard procedure. Here, 20 SLC specimens were obtained and subjected to mercury, hydroquinone and the total plate count (TPC). The hydroquinone in SLC was determined using HPLC, mercury level was assessed by ICP OES and finally TPC were computing by utilizing nutrient media (Agar). The hydroquinone in SLC ranged from 0 to 7.14 ± 0.18% with a median value of 0.33%. In 25% of the studied samples, hydroquinone was not detected, 70% of the samples showed values within the limit and 5% of the samples (1 sample) had a hydroquinone concentration above the permissible limit defined by Pakistan (5%). The mercury ranged 0-7.7 ppm, with a median value of 2.5 ppm. Mercury was detected in 95% of the samples; thus, only 5% of the samples had no mercury. In turn, 20% had mercury within the limit value while 75% of the samples had concentration above the Pakistan standard limit (1 ppm). Moreover, TPC obtained in this study was less than the allowable value set according to European Union (EU). Hence, the SLC samples showed high concentration of toxic constituents which could cause deleterious skin diseases. Government must monitor such kind of cosmetic products regularly in order to reduce the danger.

Keywords: hydroquinone; mercury; skin-lightening creams; total plate count (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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