Determination of selected heavy metal concentrations in unregistered face whitening creams sold in Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia by using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy and their health risk assessment

Abstract

This study determined the concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) in unregistered face whitening creams that are commonly accessible in Johor Bahru (Johor, Malaysia) local markets. Three separate brands (marked as Brand X, Brand Y and Brand Z) of unregistered face whitening creams were chosen. Each brand was purchased with five replicates. A total of 15 samples were purchased from five different locations. Microwave digestion process was used to digest the heavy metals out from the cream matrices, and later analysed by using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) method. Results showed slightly higher Hg concentrations in Brand X (6.5 ppm), whereas Pb concentration in the whitening creams were below the acceptable limit (ranged 0.1–0.4 ppm) as set by the Malaysia National Pharmaceutical Regulation Act (NPRA). Nevertheless, the Pb concentration exceeded the limit set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for daily use, which is 0.05 ppm. Besides, As and Cd were not detected significantly in all brands. Health risk assessment for all samples identified with heavy metals, in consideration of the excessive mercury concentration and based on HRI results, could not ignore the fact that Brand X holds possible harmful effects on human health, following its use.