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Experimental Calculations of Metals Content in Skin-Whitening Creams and Theoretical Investigation for Their Biological Effect Against Tyrosinase Enzyme

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Abstract

The demand for skin-whitening creams (SWCs) has increased rapidly worldwide due to sharp rise in product advertisements in the media and the growing awareness. Metals are present either as impurities or added intentionally in creams and may have toxic effects on users. The present study was carried out to determine the content of metals such as mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and iron (Fe) in fifteen skin-whitening creams marketed at local shops in Islamabad, Pakistan. The concentrations of metals were analyzed by inductive coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) after digestion with a mixture of HNO3, HCl, and H2O2. The skin-whitening creams were found to have metal concentrations in parts per million (ppm) in the following range: Hg (1.0–18,210 ppm), Co (0.1992–1.9931 ppm), Cr (1.0453–2.7455 ppm), Cu (0.6987–0.1997 ppm), Fe (8.8868–28.6213 ppm), Ni (0.7487–1.5958 ppm), Pb (0.2997–4.7287 ppm), and Zn (7819.2–39,696.7 ppm). As and Cd were not detected in any of the fifteen skin-whitening creams. Only one cream (L’Oréal Paris White Perfect) was found in safe limits defined by the Food and Drug Administration for cosmetics. In order to elucidate the mechanism of lower production of melanin in presence of heavy metals, a molecular docking study was carried out by using Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) software. A good correlation was observed between experimental findings and molecular docking studies.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge Dr. Muhammad Daud from Central Analytical Facility Division (CAFD), Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH), Islamabad, Pakistan, for the provision of analyses facilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sulaiman Bin Abdullah Aba Al-Khail-Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic and Applied Sciences (SA-CIRBS), International Islamic University, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan

    Tanzeela Ashraf, Mehwish Taneez & Saima Kalsoom

  2. Department of Environmental Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

    Tahira Irfan

  3. Central Analytical Facility Division (CAFD), Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH), Islamabad, Pakistan

    Munib Ahmed Shafique

Authors
  1. Tanzeela Ashraf
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  2. Mehwish Taneez
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  3. Saima Kalsoom
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  4. Tahira Irfan
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  5. Munib Ahmed Shafique
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Contributions

T.A.: sample collection, conducted all experiments, and written first draft. M.T.: conceptualization, investigation, methodology, writing—original draft preparation, and supervision. S.K.: molecular docking, reviewing draft. T.I.: sample preparation, reviewing, and editing. M.A.S.: sample analysis, reviewing, and editing.

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Correspondence to Mehwish Taneez.

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Ashraf, T., Taneez, M., Kalsoom, S. et al. Experimental Calculations of Metals Content in Skin-Whitening Creams and Theoretical Investigation for Their Biological Effect Against Tyrosinase Enzyme. Biol Trace Elem Res 199, 3562–3569 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-020-02441-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-020-02441-z

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