Organic sun protection filter frequently used in the development of sunscreens and anti-aging creams, octocrylene is degraded within the bottles to a known compound, carcinogenic and endocrine disruptor: benzophenone. This has just been discovered by researchers from the Biodiversity and Microbial Biotechnologies Laboratory of the Oceanological Observatory of Banyuls-sur-Mer (Sorbonne University / CNRS) in collaboration with American colleagues. The results of their study have just been published in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology.
To date, cosmetic or sunscreen products containing octocrylene are already banned in certain Pacific territories (such as the US Virgin Islands or the Republic of the Marshall Islands) because they represent a threat to the environment, affecting in particular corals in swimming areas. But scientists have discovered that by breaking down within the vial into benzophenone, it could be toxic to reproduction, and be a metabolic and endocrine disruptor. However, this substance was present in the fifteen commercial products tested by the Franco-American research team.
What we know about benzophenone
In the United States, benzophenone is on the lists of carcinogens and endocrine disruptors. She is also classified as “possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B)”, by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC / Iarc) of theWorld Health Organization (WHO). It affects thyroid functions and it can delay the development of the testes and cause anatomical deformities to female reproductive organs. And in studies on mammals, exposure to benzophenone induces liver cancer and lymphomas. “It can also act as a photomutagen: in the presence of light, the rate of DNA damage increases, thus increasing the risk of skin cancer” explain the researchers who believe that the substance should be banned in products care because it easily penetrates the skin.
Source:
- Time-dependent benzophenone accumulation in commercial sunscreen products from the degradation of octocrylene, Chemical research in toxicology, March 8, 2021.
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