From screening to risk assessment: a comparative study on product usage, human burden, and potential neurotoxicity of novel paraben analogues.

Summary

Using HRMS screening, the authors identified p-hydroxyacetophenone (PhAc) as a prevalent paraben analogue in personal care products and children’s urine, with geometric mean urinary levels rising from 2016 to 2023. Product analyses showed PhAc concentrations 2–38× higher than typical parabens, and neuronal assays indicated greater neurotoxic potential than methylparaben at concentrations comparable to human exposure.

Key Findings

• Identified p-hydroxyacetophenone (PhAc) in children’s urine using HRMS based on common paraben fragmentation.
• PhAc concentrations in personal care products were 2–38 times higher than typical parabens.
• Longitudinal biomonitoring (2016–2023) showed children’s urinary PhAc geometric mean increased from 35.20 to 102.68 μg/L, exceeding parabens by 1–3 orders of magnitude.
• Neuronal cells exposed to 100 nM–1 μM PhAc exhibited disrupted metabolic homeostasis, membrane damage, altered morphology, and increased apoptosis, indicating greater neurotoxic potential than methylparaben.

Clinical Implications

Clinicians and dermatologists should be aware of PhAc as an emerging preservative analogue with potential neurotoxicity, especially in children. Counseling on product selection and advocating for regulatory review and safer alternatives are warranted.

Limitations

• Biomonitoring population details (sample size, demographics) were not fully described in the abstract.
• Neuronal toxicity findings are in vitro and do not establish clinical neurotoxicity or dose–response in humans.

Future Directions

Conduct large-scale population studies to quantify exposure–health relationships, clarify sources and usage patterns of PhAc in products, and perform in vivo neurotoxicity assessments to inform regulatory limits.