Physiologic response of chronically inflamed and accommodated human skin

Final Report on the Safety Assessment of Maleic Acid1

Maleic Acid is a dicarboxylic acid that functions as a fragrance ingredient and pH adjuster in cosmetics—it is used in a few cosmetic product formulations at low concentrations. Maleic Acid is commonly used in research studies to induce Fanconi syndrome in rats and dogs in an attempt to study the mechanism of this disease. One such study found decreased glomerular filtration rate in rats given 9.0 mmol/kg, but not with 1.5 mmol/kg, Maleic Acid intraperitoneally. Preincubation with 0.75 mmol/L of Maleic Acid reduced sperm penetration of golden hamster eggs to zero. Maleic Acid failed to induce any significant increases in revertant count in strains TA1535, TA1537, TA98, and TA100 at concentrations up to 7500 µg/plate. A concentration of 2.0 × 10 -2 M Maleic Acid did show a positive pattern in a DNA synthesis inhibition test. Maleic Acid at 10%, pH 1.0, applied for 30 s on rabbit eyes, caused permanent opacity. A 1% solution, pH 1.0, applied for 2 min caused cloudiness of the cornea, but no lasting injury, and a 5% solution, also at pH 1.0, had a similar but more intense effect, with recovery delayed 6 to 7 days. Application of 10µl Maleic Acid (pH not stated) to the volar forearm and labia majora of 21 female Caucasians produced an inflammatory response at 24 and 48 h, which varied from minimal erythema to marked erythema with marked vesiculation. Maleic Acid at 20% (pH not stated) applied to one forearm daily for a period of 6 weeks to 50 human subjects produced acute vesicular dermatitis in 17 subjects, who were dropped from the study. Only five of the remaining subjects accommodated to the treatment, the rest had varying degrees of inflammation or hyperirritable skin. Although Maleic Acid itself may be a dermal and/or ocular irritant, its use as a pH adjustor in cosmetic formulations dictates that most of the acid will be neutralized into various maleate salts. Therefore, the concentration of free Maleic Acid is expected to be low, and dermal or systemic toxicity is not expected to be a concern. The safety of Maleic Acid as a pH adjustor should not be based on the concentration of use, but on the amount of free Maleic Acid that remains after neutralizing the formulation. There is no reason to expect this ingredient to induce any toxicity when used for this purpose. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel concluded that Maleic Acid is safe for use in cosmetic formulations as a pH adjustor in the practices of use as described in this safety assessment.

Long-term repetitive sodium lauryl sulfate-induced irritation of the skin: an in vivo study

Skin may adapt to topical irritants through accommodation. This study focuses on long-term exposure to irritants and attempts to demonstrate accommodation. Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) induced irritant contact dermatitis at 3 concentrations (0.025% to 0.075%). Distilled water, acetone and an empty chamber served as controls. Experimental compounds were applied to forearms of 7 healthy volunteers for 24 hr before replacing by a fresh chamber for 6 non-consecutive weeks over 103 days. Possible accommodation was quantified by visual scoring (erythema and dryness) and by bioengineering parameters: transepidermal water loss (TEWL), capacitance, chromametry and laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF). Significant erythema, dryness, elevated TEWL, skin colour reflectance and LDF values occurred during the exposure periods. Upon repeat exposure, an immediate and augmented response in erythema, TEWL, skin colour reflectance and LDF developed. However, irritant skin changes were not sustained. Irritation parameters return to baseline after cessation of exposure. There was no evidence of sustained irritation or accommodation after the last exposure. Study findings do not document sustained accommodation or adaptive hyposensitivity after long-term repetitive irritant exposure under these test conditions. Alternative models should be developed to prove or disprove the accommodation hypothesis.