Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Oct 24;14(10):1280.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph14101280.

The Assessment of Toxic Metals in Plants Used in Cosmetics and Cosmetology

Agnieszka Fischer  1 , Barbara Brodziak-Dopierała  2 , Krzysztof Loska  3 , Jerzy Stojko  4
Affiliations

The Assessment of Toxic Metals in Plants Used in Cosmetics and Cosmetology

Agnieszka Fischer et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Heavy metals polluting the natural environment are absorbed by plants. The use of herbs as components of cosmetics may pose a health risk for humans. The aim of the study was to determine the concentrations of Pb, Cd and Hg in selected species of herbs (horsetail Equisetum arvense, nettle Urtica dioica, St. John's wort Hypericum perforatum, wormwood Artemisia absinthium, yarrow Achillea millefolium, cottonwood Solidago virgaurea) self-collected from the natural environment in two different locations, and purchased in stores on the territory of Poland. The concentration of the metals studied was: 4.67-23.8 mg/kg Pb, 0.01-1.51 mg/kg Cd, 0.005-0.028 mg/kg Hg. Different concentrations of metals, depending on species and origin of plants, were found. The mean concentration of all studied metals was the lowest in St. John's wort, and the highest in nettle. In herbs purchased in Polish stores, the concentration of Pb was higher than in plants self-collected in the natural environment.

Keywords: AAS; cadmium; lead; mercury; plants.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Plant collection area, Poland.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of concentration of Pb, Cd and Hg in self-collected and purchased plants (mg/kg).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Concentration of Pb, Cd and Hg in self-collected species of herbs (mg/kg).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Concentration of Pb, Cd and Hg in self-collected species of herbs (mg/kg).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Szynkowska M.I., Pawlaczyk A., Leśniewska E., Paryjczak T. Toxic metal distribution in rural and urban soil samples affected by industry and traffic. Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2009;18:1141–1150.
    1. Pivic R., Stanojkovic-Sebic A., Josic D., Dinic Z. Evaluation of the heavy metals content in soil and plant material at different distances from the from the motorway e75 in the section Belgrade-Presevo (Serbia) Bulg. J. Agric. Sci. 2014;20:330–336.
    1. Siti Zulaikha R., Sharifah Norkhadijah S.I., Praveena S.M. Hazardous ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products and health concern: A review. Public Health Res. 2015;5:7–15.
    1. Łopaciuk A., Łoboda M. Global beauty industry trends in the 21st century; Proceedings of the Management, Knowledge and Learning International Conference; Zadar, Croatia. 19–21 June 2013; pp. 19–21.
    1. Adepoju-Bello A.A., Oguntibeju O.O., Adebisi R.A., Okpala N., Coker H.A.B. Evaluation of the concentration of toxic metals in cosmetic products in Nigeria. Afr. J. Biotechnol. 2012;11:16360–16364.

LinkOut - more resources