Evaluation of Triclosan in Medicated Cosmetic Products

Triclosan is an antibacterial and antifungal agent found in various medicated cosmetic products, such as soaps, toothpaste, mouthwashes, handwashes, face washes, and surgical cleaning treatments. Despite its widespread usage, triclosan raises several health concerns, like contact dermatitis, skin irritation, thyroid hormone disturbance, potential endocrine disruption, reproductive interference, liver toxicity, and promoting bacterial resistance. Hence, it is considered harmful. Because of this, triclosan estimation is essential for evaluating whether or not triclosan is present at its prescribed limit.

Development and validation of a colorimetry technique to estimate the amount of triclosan in commercially available medicated cosmetic products.

The colorimetry method for the triclosan estimation was developed by using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent (FCR), which gave a color change from yellow to blue that was detected at 725nm by using a UV-visible spectrophotometer. A full factorial experimental design was used to optimize the procedure, and it was validated according to ICH standards.

The optimization of experimental conditions regarding the concentration and volume of reagents for the colorimetric determination of triclosan was accomplished through the experimentation provided by the experimental design and response surface methodology. The method was found linear with a correlation coefficient value of 0.9985 in the range of 20-100 µg/ml triclosan concentration. It was also found to be precise, accurate, and robust with LOD and LOQ values of 1.55µg/ml and 4.71µg/ml, respectively.

The proposed method, which is simple, economical, reliable, and validated, can be an easy and effective alternative for evaluating triclosan in medicated cosmetic products such as toothpaste, soap, hand wash, and face wash.