Occurrence and Profiles of Phthalates in Foodstuffs from China and Their Implications for Human Exposure

Abstract

Phthalate esters are used in a wide variety of consumer products, and human exposure to this class of compounds is widespread. Nevertheless, studies on dietary exposure of humans to phthalates are limited. In this study, nine phthalate esters were analyzed in eight categories of foodstuffs (n = 78) collected from Harbin and Shanghai, China, in 2011. Dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BzBP), and diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) were frequently detected in food samples. DEHP was the major compound found in most of the food samples, with concentrations that ranged from below the limit of quantification (LOQ) to 762 ng/g wet weight (wt). The concentrations of phthalates in food samples from China were comparable to concentrations reported for several other countries, but the profiles were different; DMP was found more frequently in Chinese foods than in foods from other countries. The estimated daily dietary intake of phthalates (EDIdiet) was calculated based on the concentrations measured and the daily ingestion rates of food items. The EDIdiet values for DMP, DEP, DIBP, DBP, BzBP, and DEHP (based on mean concentrations) were 0.092, 0.051, 0.505, 0.703, 0.022, and 1.60 μg/kg-bw/d, respectively, for Chinese adults. The EDIdiet values calculated for phthalates were below the reference doses suggested by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Comparison of total daily intakes, reported previously based on a biomonitoring study, with the current dietary intake estimates suggests that diet is the main source of DEHP exposure in China. Nevertheless, diet accounted for only <10% of the total exposure to DMP, DEP, DBP, and DIBP, which suggested the existence of other sources of exposure to these phthalates.

Determination of contamination pathways of phthalates in food products sold on the Belgian market

“…from 2012 onwards). Guo et al (2012) analysed nine phthalates in eight categories of Chinese foodstuffs. DMP, DEP, DBP, DiBP, BBP and DEHP were Table 3 Phthalate concentrations (min-max (median)) determined in every group for the two measurement campaigns together.…”

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“…To reduce the opportunity of contamination during the analysis process, it is necessary to shorten sample pretreatment time and to reduce the dosage of the reagents and materials. In other words, the analytical procedure must be kept simple [21].…”

Tadalafil-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers using permeation enhancers

“…The effectiveness of transdermal drug delivery depends on the drug's ability to reach therapeutic levels by penetrating the skin sufficiently (Müller et al, 2002). For transdermal drug delivery, nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) are an attractive strategy since the adhesion of an NLC to the skin surface provides an occlusive effect, which can eventually lead to an increase in skin hydration and promote the deposition of drugs by reducing corneocyte packing and widening inter-corneocyte 5 gaps (Schäfer-Korting et al, 2007;Guo et al, 2012). Furthermore, the lipid and surfactant components can enhance permeation by reducing the barrier properties of the stratum corneum, thereby increasing drug permeation through the skin (Joshi and Patravale, 2006).…”