Personal care products are only one of many exposure routes of natural toxic substances to humans and the environment

Thomas D. Bucheli*, Bjarne W. Strobel, Hans Chr. Bruun Hansen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)
159 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The special issue "A Critical View on Natural Substances in Personal Care Products" is dedicated to addressing the multidisciplinary special challenges of natural ingredients in personal care products (PCP) and addresses also environmental exposure. In this perspective article, we argue that environmental exposure is probably not so much dominated by PCP use, but in many cases by direct emission from natural or anthropogenically managed vegetation, including agriculture. In support of this hypothesis, we provide examples of environmental fate and behaviour studies for compound classes that are either listed in the International Nomenclature of Cosmetics Ingredients (INCI) or have been discussed in a wider context of PCP applications and have been classified as potentially harmful to humans and the environment. Specifically, these include estrogenic isoflavones, the carcinogenic ptaquiloside and pyrrolizidine alkaloids, saponins, terpenes and terpenoids, such as artemisinin, and mycotoxins. Research gaps and challenges in the domains of human and environmental exposure assessment of natural products common to our currently rather separated research communities are highlighted.

Original languageEnglish
Article number10
JournalCosmetics
Volume5
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)1-11
ISSN2079-9284
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018

Keywords

  • Drinking water
  • Micropollutants
  • Mycotoxins
  • Phytotoxins

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