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Methylparaben Safety

Used as a preservative in many food, beverages, drugs and cosmetics, methylparaben, a member of the paraben family, is the ester of methyl alcohol and p-hydroxybenzoic acid. Methylparaben is a water-soluble, anti-fungal, anti-microbial and anti-irritant and is generally considered a safe substance with no known toxicity with oral consumption. However, concerns have been expressed over the use of methylparaben due to it being readily absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract as well as the skin.

  1. Cosmetic Uses

    • For over 80 years, methylparaben has been used as a preservative in the cosmetic industry, Methylparaben is often found in facial moisturizers, anti-aging products, hair color and bleaching products, shaving gels, facial cleansers, personal lubricants, spray tanning solutions, shampoo and conditioners, as well as mascara, eye shadow and foundation.

    Pharmaceutical Uses

    • In the pharmaceutical industry, methylparaben has been used to protect medications since 1924. As methylparaben is an anti-bacterial, product such as topical antibiotics, corticosteroids and ophthalmic medications as well as some antibiotics such as aqueous penicillin use methylparaben to prevent microorganism contamination.

    Food Uses

    • Due to the anti-fungal properties methylparaben is used as a botulinum, mold and yeast inhibitor in food products. Generally recognized as safe by the Food and Drug Administration if used in small amounts, methylparaben can be found in numerous baked goods, as well as frozen dairy products, oils and fats, beverages, jams, creams, syrups and seasonings.

    Warning

    • According to the Cosmetic Safety Database, methylparaben has been linked to cancer, allergies, immunotoxicity, endocrine disruption, organ system toxicity and biochemical or cellular level changes. Lesser or emerging concerns are neurotoxicity and skin, eye and lung irritation. Further investigation into what role parabens might play in breast cancer is currently underway, while some studies indicate methylparaben may react with UVB exposure thus resulting in increased DNA damage and skin aging.

    Alternatives

    • Some cosmetics companies are opting to produce paraben-free lines of cosmetics, prompted by the "Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology" study published in 1988 concerning parabens found in breast tumors and also reports of disrupted endocrine functions caused by parabens, printed in the Journal of Applied Toxicology in 2004 . According to the FDA, there are no known connections between breast cancer and parabens.

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