Octocrylas, an organic UV filter that is often used in sunscreen and anti-aging creams, disintegrates into benzophenon, a connection that is suspected of being carcinogenic and harmful to the end. This was found in a new study that recommended that the substance from personal care products recommend. The fact that octocrylas can be contaminated with benzophenon is known and the manufacturers do the necessary to ensure that the products are safe, commented the French Industrial Association Febea.
The ingredient in oneVariety of cosmetics and personal care products-including sunscreen and anti-aging creams-disintegrates into benzophenon, which quickly accumulates with increasing aging of the product, as a team of French and American researchers showed in a study recently published in the magazine “Chemical Research in Toxicology”.(Link to the full test report can be found at the end of the article)
Benzophenon enriches itself over time
Researchers of the Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls-sur-Mer (University of Sorbonne, CNRS) have tested in cooperation with their American colleagues from Haereticus Environmental Laboratory in Clifford, Virginia, about fifteen sun protection and anti-aging products. The products were subjected to 6 weeks of accelerated aging test, which corresponds to a year at room temperature. They were then analyzed with a high-performance mass spectrometer.
“Initially, there is very little benzophenon in the products. But with the increasing aging of the products there is more and more benzophenon, ”Prof. Philippe Lebaron, co -author of the study, told AFP. In fact, the concentration of benzophenone in the products increased sharply after they were subjected to the accelerated stability method. "This is the first time that the breakdown of octocrylas has been proven to benzophenon," added Pr. Lebaron.
Absorption by the skin
Benzophenon is associated with a variety of toxicities, including genotoxicity, carcinogenicity and endocrine disorders. The substance is classified by the WHO international Agency for Research on Cancer (Iarc) as “possibly carcinogenic for humans (group 2b)”.
Since both octocrylas and benzophenone can easily be absorbed through the skin, the researchers assume that products on ococrylenic basis and thus also with benzophenon can pose a threat to human health.
Harmful to marine life
Octocrylene is also suspected of being harmful to marine life, especially corals. Octocrylene can act as a metabolic poison in corals and possibly reduce the resilience of coral reefs compared to climate change, according to the authors of the study. "Some manufacturers have withdrawn from their sunscreens for environmental protection reasons," notes Prof. Lebaron.
Concentration far below the security thresholds
The fact that products that contain octocrylas can also contain traces of benzophenon is “well -known” to the cosmetics manufacturers, the French Association of Beauty Companies (Febea) replied. According to the industry association, the possible presence of benzophenon is already taken into account when it comes to the safety evaluation of octocrylene. In addition, the quantities measured in the study remained “always below the toxicity threshold values that guarantee that products for human health are safe.”
In fact, the biggest challenge when using octocrylas in personal care formulas could be to eliminate the benzophenon contamination and to develop stabilization methods that prevent the formation of benzophenone. "Our results have actually shown that the speed of the increase in benzophenon concentration depends more on product formulation than on the initial octocrylenic concentration," said the study.
In any case, according to the Febea, the exposure of humans to benzophenon, as described in the study, would not exceed 0.5 mg/day (when using 18 g sunscreen per day), which is three times less than the maximum oral dose. "These traces of benzophenon therefore have no effect on health," concludes the organization.
Reference:Chemical Research in Toxicology, March 8, 2021 – “Benzophenone Accumulates over Time from the Degradation of Octocrylene in Commercial Sunscreen Products” – C. A. Downs, Joseph C. DiNardo, Didier Stien, Alice M. S. Rodrigues, and Philippe Lebaron,
