<i>p</i>-Hydroxybenzoate Esters Enhance Mouse Contact Hypersensitivity

Abstract

p-Hydroxybenzoate esters (parabens), which are often used in cosmetics as preservatives, have been reported to have estrogenic and anti-androgenic effects and to cause contact dermatitis. In this paper, we evaluate the effects of parabens on contact hypersensitivity, an allergic response to low molecular weight chemicals that causes contact dermatitis. Female BALB/c mice were administered 1200 mg/kg of butylparaben and sensitized by painting 3% 4-ethoxymethylene-2-phenyl-2-oxazolin-5-one (OXA) on their backs. Seven days later, the mice were challenged by painting 1% OXA on the ear and the ear thickness was measured. Ear auricles were excised and the RNA expressions of interleukin (IL)-18 and interferon (IFN)-γ were evaluated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Butylparaben enhanced ear swelling at 6 hr after the elicitation of allergy. Butylparaben at a dosage of 600 mg/kg was sufficient to aggravate contact hypersensitivity. Among the six parabens examined, butylparaben exerted the strongest allergy-enhancing activity. Butylparaben also enhanced the RNA expression of IL-18 before the challenge with OXA and the RNA expression of IFN-γ at 6 hr after the challenge. These results suggest that parabens could enhance IL-18 and IFN-γ expression and exacerbate mouse contact hypersensitivity to OXA.

Structure-activity relationship of a series of 17 parabens and related compounds for histamine release in rat peritoneal mast cells and skin allergic reaction in guinea pigs

“…These findings suggest that paraben derivatives promote exocytosis by interacting with ryanodine receptor. Moreover, butylparaben enhanced the mRNA expression levels of interleukin-18 and interferon- (Sakazaki et al, 2009).…”

Solid Lipid Nanoparticles as Effective Reservoir Systems for Long-Term Preservation of Multidose Formulations

“…However, it has been shown that sometimes there is no complete conformity between labels of cosmetics and their actual composition; in addition, most consumers may not fully understand the meaning of labels (3). Moreover, most of the used preservatives, parabens included, can cause concentration-dependent contact dermatitis (9), and there is an alert for overpreservation of cosmetics (1). As reported by Lundov et al (1), "Research on the antimicrobial efficiency of preservatives in cosmetic products has not been given much attention and currently only few published studies have investigated the concentration-dependent effect of preservatives in cosmetic products".…”