Risk assessment of triclosan, a cosmetic preservative

Jung Dae Lee, Joo Young Lee, Seung Jun Kwack, Chan Young Shin, Hyun Jun Jang, Hyang Yeon Kim, Min Kook Kim, Dong Wan Seo, Byung Mu Lee, Kyu Bong Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

53 Scopus citations

Abstract

Triclosan (TCS) is an antimicrobial compound used in consumer products. The purpose of current study was to examine toxicology and risk assessment of TCS based on available data. Acute toxicities of oral, transdermal and inhalation routes were low, and phototoxicity and neurotoxicity were not observed. Topical treatment of TCS to animal caused mild irritation. TCS did not induce reproductive and developmental toxicity in rodents. In addition, genotoxicity was not considered based on in vitro and in vivo tests of TCS. It is not classified as a carcinogen in international authorities such as International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). No-observed-adverseeffect level (NOAEL) was determined 12 mg/kg bw/day for TCS, based on haematoxicity and reduction of absolute and relative spleen weights in a 104-week oral toxicity study in rats. Percutaneous absorption rate was set as 14%, which was human skin absorption study reported by National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) (2009). The systemic exposure dosage (SED) of TCS has been derived by two scenarios depending on the cosmetics usage of Koreans. The first scenario is the combined use of representative cosmetics and oral care products. The second scenario is the combined use of rinse-off products of cleansing, deodorants, coloring products, and oral care products. SEDs have been calculated as 0.14337 mg/kg bw/day for the first scenario and 0.04733 mg/kg bw/day for the second scenario. As a result, margin of safety (MOS) for the first and second scenarios was estimated to 84 and 253.5, respectively. Based on these results, exposure of TCS contained in rinse-off products, deodorants, and coloring products would not pose a significant health risk when it is used up to 0.3%.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)137-154
Number of pages18
JournalToxicological Research
Volume35
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2019

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Korean Society of Toxicology.

Keywords

  • Cosmetic ingredients
  • Rinse-off products
  • Risk assessment
  • Triclosan

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