Contact dermatitis to botanical extracts

Abstract

A review of the literature of reported cases of contact dermatitis to a variety of natural herbal extracts is Presented. Natural extracts are commonly used ingredients in many cosmetic preparations and homeopathic remedies. Although the term natural botanical extracts inherently purports to have beneficial and benign properties, these extracts can cause adverse reactions in individuals. As such, dermatologists should be cognizant of these agents as possible sources of allergenicity in patients presenting with contact dermatitis.

Topical botanically derived products: use, skin reactions, and usefulness of patch tests. A multicentre Italian study

“…The six allergens most frequently found to be positive in the SIDAPA series were nickel sulfate (36 reactions), fragrance mix 1 (17 reactions), methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI)/methylisothiazolinone (MI) (15), cobalt chloride (13), Myroxylon pereirae (9), and potassium dichromate (6).…”

“…Evidence on the efficacy of the medicinal herbs contained in many preparations is usually limited, and adequate scientific proof of their efficacy is lacking (5). Furthermore, despite the popular belief in the harmlessness of natural ingredients, several cases of adverse reactions to plant extracts have been reported, in particular cutaneous side-effects such as allergic contact dermatitis, irritant contact dermatitis, phototoxic reactions, and contact urticaria (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13). However, the number of reported cases of contact dermatitis seems small when compared with the widespread use of botanical remedies, and little is known about the real incidence of adverse reactions to botanical extracts contained in cosmetic and topically used herbal products.…”

Contact-Allergic Reactions to Cosmetics

“…Plant extracts and herbal remedies have become very popular in recent years and may give rise to (sometimes severe) contact dermatitis problems [46, 47]. Patients allergic to perfume components should be advised to avoid cosmetics containing plant extracts (separately labelled on the packaging with their Latin INCI-name), some of which being fragrance ingredients such as essential oils [48] and which are not recognized as such by the consumers, or that are used because of other properties, for example, antibacterial or antifungal, such as, for example, Melaleuca alternifolia or tea tree oil [49].…”

Irritant Contact Dermatitis Risk of Common Topical Traditional Chinese Medicines Used for Skin‐Lightening: A Pilot Clinical Trial with 30 Volunteers

“…Recently, the potential use of TTCMs in developing new skin-care cosmetics has been emphasised [17]. The fact that women are exposed to more cosmetics and toiletries [18] explains their predominance among the subjects of the present study.…”