Original and faked perfumes: a 90-day repeated-dose dermal toxicity study in Wistar rats

Abstract

The fragrance industry frequently establishes self-imposed restrictions on certain ingredients to ensure consumer safety of their products. However, locally produced counterfeits remain unregulated and may impose serious adverse health effects.  This study was conducted to evaluate possible local and systemic toxic effects associated with repeated daily exposure to 3 different original and 3 fake perfumes using Wistar rats as a model. A total of 84 adult Wistar rats were randomly allocated into 7 different groups. At the end of the experiment, all animals were weighed, sacrificed humanely and blood samples were collected for hematology and serum biochemistry analyses. A thorough necropsy was carried out and major organs were dissected and weighed, and different tissues samples were collected and examined histologically. All animals survived the entire experiment without showing any abnormal behavior, local or systemic clinical signs. There were no significant changes between different groups and control group in all parameters examined. Although in this study no harmful effects were detected in rats after repeated exposure to either original or fake perfumes, regulatory guidelines that protect consumers and mandate perfume makers to declare a list of components on their products must be established.