Study of p-aminobenzoic acid and its metabolites in human volunteers treated with essential oil formulations using attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and HPLC with fluorometric detection

Microchimica Acta volume 168, pages93–98(2010)Cite this article

Abstract

The effects of nine essential oils (ylang-wild, lavender, orange, ginger, chamomile, peppermint, sage, nutmeg, and eucalyptus), three known chemical penetration enhancers (tricaprylin, liquid paraffin, and mineral oil), and six plant oils (olive, sunflower, soybean, canola, corn, and grape-seed oil) on the skin permeation of p-aminobenzoic acid were studied using attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. We applied essential oil creams to the skin of volunteers and then used a high performance liquid chromatograph with a fluorometric detector to evaluate levels of p-aminobenzoic acid and its metabolites in urine that was not pretreated with solvents and directly injected into the liquid chromatograph. After 1–2 days of treatment with different formulations of essential oils, levels of p-aminobenzoic acid and its metabolites were higher in the urine of the participants treated with essential oils than in the urine of the untreated controls.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by grant NSC 96-2113-M-041-003-MY3 from the National Science Council, Taiwan R. O. C.

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  1. Department of Applied Chemistry, Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Tainan, 71743, Taiwan

    Lai-Hao Wang & Jun-Xian Chen

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  1. Lai-Hao Wang
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  2. Jun-Xian Chen
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Correspondence to Lai-Hao Wang.

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Wang, LH., Chen, JX. Study of p-aminobenzoic acid and its metabolites in human volunteers treated with essential oil formulations using attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and HPLC with fluorometric detection. Microchim Acta 168, 93–98 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-009-0255-y

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Keywords

  • Essential oil formulations
  • Attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR)
  • p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and its metabolites
  • Urine
  • Fluorometric detection