Diethyl phthalate (DEP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and butyl paraben (BP) are man-made chemicals used in personal care products, such as lotions and creams. Exposure to these chemicals causes a variety of adverse reproductive outcomes in animal studies. Humans can be exposed to these chemicals through dermal absorption, but there are no published data on absorption, metabolism, and excretion after dermal application. This study investigates urinary concentrations of BP and metabolites of DEP and DBP after topical application. In a 2-week single-blinded study, 26 healthy Caucasian male subjects were given a whole body topical application of basic cream 2 mg/cm(2) (control week) and then a cream containing 2% (w/w) of DEP, DBP and BP each (treatment week) daily. Twenty-four-hour urine samples were collected. Urinary total, and unconjugated BP, monoethyl phthalate (MEP) and monobutyl phthalate (MBP) metabolites were analysed by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS). All 26 subjects showed increased excretion of MEP, MBP and BP following topical application. Total MEP, MBP and BP (mean +/- SEM) excreted in urine in the treatment week were, respectively, 41 +/- 1.9, 11.8 +/- 0.6 and 2.6 +/- 0.1 mg/24 h. On average 5.79, 1.82 and 0.32%, respectively, of the applied DEP, DBP and BP could be recovered in urine as MEP, MBP and BP. The concentration of the compounds peaked in urine 8-12 h after application. The fractions of unconjugated MEP, MBP, and BP were 78, 8.0 and 2.1%, respectively. Absorption of DEP, DBP and BP through skin could potentially contribute to adverse health effects. The three chemicals are systemically absorbed, metabolized and excreted in urine following application on the skin in a cream preparation. More DEP than DBP was absorbed, presumably because of a faster absorption rate for DEP.

In vitro and animal studies have reported endocrine-disrupting activity of chemicals used commonly as additives in cosmetics and skin care products. We investigated whether diethyl phthalate (DEP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and butyl paraben (BP) were systemically absorbed and influenced endogenous reproductive and thyroid hormone levels in humans after topical application. In a two-week single-blinded study, 26 healthy young male volunteers were assigned to daily whole-body topical application of 2 mg/cm2 basic cream formulation each without (week one) and with (week two) the three 2% (w/w) compounds. The concentrations of BP and the main phthalate metabolites monoethyl (MEP) and monobutyl phthalate (MBP) were measured in serum together with the following reproductive hormones: follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), lutenising hormone (LH), testosterone, estradiol, and inhibin B and thyroid hormones (thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxine (FT4), total triiodothyroxine (T3), and total thyroxine (T4)). MEP, MBP, and BP peaked in serum a few hours after application, reaching mean +/- SEM levels of 1001 +/- 81 microg/L, 51 +/- 6 microg/ L, and 135 +/- 11 microg/L, respectively. Only MEP was detectable in serum before treatment. Minor differences in inhibin B, LH, estradiol, T4, FT4, and TSH were observed between the two weeks, but these were not related to exposure. We demonstrated for the first time that DEP, DBP, and BP could be systemically absorbed in man after topical application. The systemic absorption of these compounds did not seem to have any short-term influence on the levels of reproductive and thyroid hormones in the examined young men.

Recent in vitro and animal studies have reported estrogen-like activity of chemicals used in sunscreen preparations. We investigated whether the three sunscreens benzophenone-3 (BP-3), octyl-methoxycinnamate (OMC), and 3-(4-methylbenzylidene) camphor (4-MBC) were absorbed and influenced endogenous reproductive hormone levels in humans after topical application. In this 2-wk single-blinded study 32 healthy volunteers, 15 young males and 17 postmenopausal females, were assigned to daily whole-body topical application of 2 mg per cm(2) of basic cream formulation without (week 1) and with (week 2) the three sunscreens at 10% (wt/wt) of each. Maximum plasma concentrations were 200 ng per mL BP-3, 20 ng per mL 4-MBC, and 10 ng per mL OMC for females and 300 ng per mL BP-3, 20 ng per mL 4-MBC, and 20 ng per mL OMC for men. All three sunscreens were detectable in urine. The reproductive hormones FSH, LH were unchanged but minor differences in testosterone levels were observed between the 2 wk. A minor difference in serum estradiol and inhibin B levels were observed in men only. These differences in hormone levels were not related to sunscreen exposure.