Abstract:The fragrance material anisyl alcohol has been cited as a moderately frequent cause of allergic contact dermatitis. A review of the literature shows that when the underlying clinical and experimental data are analyzed, a clear cause-effect relationship has infrequently or rarely been established. On the basis of the generally weak sensitizing potential of this substance coupled with its generally low exposure conditions, the prevalence of clinical cases would not be expected to be particularly high. This is no… Show more
“…However, several of those may be declared on a single product and not all are associated with the same likelihood of causing or eliciting reactions in consumers. [13–22] In regions where labelling of individual fragrance ingredients is not in place, this identification may not be possible.…”
Section: Identifying the Ingredient(s) Within A Fragrance Compound Rementioning
Identification of substances in consumer products (more particularly fragrance allergens in cosmetics) that are responsible for cases of contact dermatitis is of key importance for the patient and also for industry so that appropriate risk management measures can be applied. This is best done by a close collaboration between the dermatologist, the manufacturer of the consumer (cosmetic) product and the fragrance supplier. This paper describes a recommended practice that has been successfully applied for many years to achieve this goal.
“…However, several of those may be declared on a single product and not all are associated with the same likelihood of causing or eliciting reactions in consumers. [13–22] In regions where labelling of individual fragrance ingredients is not in place, this identification may not be possible.…”
Section: Identifying the Ingredient(s) Within A Fragrance Compound Rementioning
Identification of substances in consumer products (more particularly fragrance allergens in cosmetics) that are responsible for cases of contact dermatitis is of key importance for the patient and also for industry so that appropriate risk management measures can be applied. This is best done by a close collaboration between the dermatologist, the manufacturer of the consumer (cosmetic) product and the fragrance supplier. This paper describes a recommended practice that has been successfully applied for many years to achieve this goal.
“…The accompanying papers on amylcinnamic aldehyde [Hostynek and Maibach, submitted a], anisyl alcohol [Hostynek and Maibach, 2003a], citronellol [Hostynek and Maibach, submitted b], geraniol [Hostynek and Maibach, submitted c], linalool [Hostynek and Maibach, 2003b], ·-isomethylionone [Hostynek and Maibach, submitted d] show that when the underlying clinical and experimental data are analyzed according to the criteria outlined above, a clear cause-effect relationship has infrequently or rarely been established, nor would one be necessarily expected on the basis of the generally weak sensitizing potential of these substances coupled with reasonably low exposure conditions. This is not to say that some of these substances are frequent inducers of type IV allergy in members of the public.…”
Section: Conclusion Of the Studies On Six Fragrance Allergensmentioning
In practice, the clinical diagnosis of allergic contact dermatitis is often highly problematic with the identification of the specific allergen that has actually caused a patient’s particular dermatitic episode being even more difficult. A large number of reports in the literature are able to identify a number of substances to which the patient is allergic without clearly indicating a causal link to the patient’s current problem. For the reader of such reports, it is often difficult to judge if this link has been established, and for this reason, a number of criteria have been proposed to determine if reported positive patch test reactions are clinically relevant. These criteria include the degree of information given on the selection and condition of the patients, patch testing conditions, the intensity and duration of reactions, reactions occurring simultaneously to other patch test materials, the likelihood of confounding factors such as cross-reactions and excited skin occurring, linkage to specific consumer products or environmental sources of the putative allergen and follow-up with appropriate use testing. Criteria are also suggested for evaluating a substance’s allergenic potency from reports of predictive testing. These include the availability of details on the test methodology, maximization procedures, the selection criteria for test and control subjects and of the exact test scores. The applicability of these criteria are tested in separate publications on 6 fragrance allergens, for which information is provided on patch test concentrations.
“…This approach has already been used to examine four other substances that have also been cited as frequent causes of contact dermatitis: ␣ -iso-methylionone [5] , anisyl alcohol [6] , linalool [7] and amylcinnamic aldehyde [8] .…”
The fragrance material geraniol has been cited as a frequent cause of allergic contact dermatitis. A review of the literature shows that when the underlying clinical and experimental data are analyzed, a clear cause-effect relationship has infrequently or rarely been established. On the basis of the generally weak sensitizing potential of this substance coupled with its generally low exposure conditions, the prevalence of clinical cases would not be expected to be particularly high. This is not to say that geraniol is a frequent inducer of type IV allergy in members of the public. It remains to be seen, however, how often such allergy, once established, is responsible for any of the cases of allergic contact dermatitis commonly ascribed in the literature. Indeed, in some cases, patch-test conditions may not be optimal for differentiating between clinically relevant and irrelevant allergy to geraniol. Because of the numerous publications on geraniol-positive patch-test publications, a future effort to ascertain how many of these represent clinical intolerance is indicated. This will also permit determination of the NOEL (no observed effect level) in patch and use testing.
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