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<p>Aromatic oils (AOs) are widely used in cosmetics, therapeutics, and culinary purposes but their safety can be compromised by environmental contamination with trace/toxic metals. Present study was intended to quantify essential trace (Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn) and toxic (Cd, Cr, Pb) metals in natural AOs extracted from Himalayan aromatic plants (<i>n</i> = 15) and commercial AOs using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS), and to evaluate associated health risk through their oral and topical applications. The elemental profiling and health risk evaluation of AOs extracted from Himalayan plants revealed noticeable disparities between natural and commercial products. Among essential elements, Fe exhibited the highest average concentration in both natural (0.173 ± 0.073&#xa0;mg/L) and commercial AOs (0.633 ± 0.527&#xa0;mg/L), followed by Zn, Cu and Mn. Whereas Cd was the most predominant toxic metal with average levels of 0.233 ± 0.186&#xa0;mg/L in natural and 0.351 ± 0.231&#xa0;mg/L in commercial AOs. Health risk indices (HRI), target hazard quotient (THQ), and health index (HI) for most metals were below 1, indicating minimal non-carcinogenic risks due from oral exposure of AOs; but Cd depicted HRI &gt; 1, signifying potential toxicity upon chronic intake. For dermal applications, margin of safety (MoS) values for Cd, Cr, and Pb were &lt; 100, demonstrating possible dermal risks due to topical application of AOs. The target cancer risk (TCR) and lifetime cancer risk (LCR) values for Cd, Cr, and Pb fell within USEPA’s safe range (1 × 10⁻<sup>4</sup> to 1 × 10⁻⁶). However, continual and cumulative exposure even at low doses may contribute to bioaccumulation and long-term hazards. Overall, commercial AOs exhibited higher metal loads, likely due to industrial processing, blending, packaging, storage and transportation. This study provides valuable insights to toxicologists, environmental chemists and regulatory authorities for establishing rigorous quality control and safety standards for AOs used in food, cosmetics, and therapeutic applications.</p>

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Elemental Profiling and Health Risk Assessment of Aromatic Oils Used for Oral and Topical Applications

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月2日

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  • Ladan Khan,
  • Arshad Mehmood Abbasi,
  • Rifsha Naseem,
  • Zufar Qoryog’diyev,
  • Oybek Shukurov,
  • Munir H. Shah

摘要

Aromatic oils (AOs) are widely used in cosmetics, therapeutics, and culinary purposes but their safety can be compromised by environmental contamination with trace/toxic metals. Present study was intended to quantify essential trace (Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn) and toxic (Cd, Cr, Pb) metals in natural AOs extracted from Himalayan aromatic plants (n = 15) and commercial AOs using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS), and to evaluate associated health risk through their oral and topical applications. The elemental profiling and health risk evaluation of AOs extracted from Himalayan plants revealed noticeable disparities between natural and commercial products. Among essential elements, Fe exhibited the highest average concentration in both natural (0.173 ± 0.073 mg/L) and commercial AOs (0.633 ± 0.527 mg/L), followed by Zn, Cu and Mn. Whereas Cd was the most predominant toxic metal with average levels of 0.233 ± 0.186 mg/L in natural and 0.351 ± 0.231 mg/L in commercial AOs. Health risk indices (HRI), target hazard quotient (THQ), and health index (HI) for most metals were below 1, indicating minimal non-carcinogenic risks due from oral exposure of AOs; but Cd depicted HRI > 1, signifying potential toxicity upon chronic intake. For dermal applications, margin of safety (MoS) values for Cd, Cr, and Pb were < 100, demonstrating possible dermal risks due to topical application of AOs. The target cancer risk (TCR) and lifetime cancer risk (LCR) values for Cd, Cr, and Pb fell within USEPA’s safe range (1 × 10⁻4 to 1 × 10⁻⁶). However, continual and cumulative exposure even at low doses may contribute to bioaccumulation and long-term hazards. Overall, commercial AOs exhibited higher metal loads, likely due to industrial processing, blending, packaging, storage and transportation. This study provides valuable insights to toxicologists, environmental chemists and regulatory authorities for establishing rigorous quality control and safety standards for AOs used in food, cosmetics, and therapeutic applications.