Al-Saleh Iman, Shinwari Neptune, Al-Amodi Mona
Biological and Medical Research Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Biol Trace Elem Res. 2009 Oct;131(1):43-54. doi: 10.1007/s12011-009-8341-x. Epub 2009 Feb 18.
Skin-lightening creams are being increasingly used by women in particular, worldwide in an attempt to whiten their skin. Men and older people use these creams to remove age spots or other pigmentation disorders. Several studies have reported the presence of high mercury levels in skin-lightening cream. Women, especially pregnant and nursing mothers, who use these creams are at risk of mercury toxicity because long-term exposure can cause permanent neurological damage, nephrological disorders, fertility problems, and birth defects. Early exposure usually has no clinical symptoms. Mercury levels were measured in a total of 49 ovary tissue samples. The mean mercury contents in the ovaries of non-treated mice (11.70 +/- 13.38 ng/g) were compared to mice treated with Rose skin-lightening cream samples (2,471.92 +/- 1,336.31 ng/g) and those treated with Fair & Lovely skin-lightening creams (58.47 +/- 39.51 ng/g). The mercury content in the ovary tissues increased with number of cream applications and were highest in the ovaries of mice treated twice a day with Fair & Lovely (87.79 +/- 26.20 ng/g) and once a day with Rose (3,515.61 +/- 1,099.78 ng/g). Our data indicate that dermal exposure to mercury can result in a significant accumulation in the ovaries of mice following the application of skin-lightening cream. This may cause alterations in reproductive behavior and contribute to infertility or ovarian failure. Of course, these results need to be confirmed by further research. Imported or locally made skin-lightening creams are widely available in Saudi market. It would be ideal to ban the sale of these creams but unfortunately, advertisements in the mass media presenting celebrities and beauty specialists make these products more popular. Alternatively, public health authorities should encourage more reliance on prescribed creams for the treatment of skin pigmentation problems.
尤其是在全球范围内，女性越来越多地使用美白面霜来美白肌肤。男性和老年人使用这些面霜来去除老年斑或其他色素沉着紊乱问题。几项研究报告称美白面霜中汞含量很高。使用这些面霜的女性，尤其是孕妇和哺乳期母亲，有汞中毒的风险，因为长期接触会导致永久性神经损伤、肾脏疾病、生育问题和出生缺陷。早期接触通常没有临床症状。共对49个卵巢组织样本进行了汞含量测量。将未处理小鼠卵巢中的平均汞含量（11.70 +/- 13.38纳克/克）与用玫瑰美白面霜样本处理的小鼠（2471.92 +/- 1336.31纳克/克）以及用“白皙可爱”美白面霜处理的小鼠（58.47 +/- 39.51纳克/克）进行了比较。卵巢组织中的汞含量随着面霜使用次数的增加而升高，在每天使用两次“白皙可爱”面霜的小鼠卵巢中最高（87.79 +/- 26.20纳克/克），在每天使用一次玫瑰面霜的小鼠卵巢中次之（3515.61 +/- 1099.78纳克/克）。我们的数据表明，皮肤接触汞会导致在涂抹美白面霜后小鼠卵巢中汞大量蓄积。这可能会导致生殖行为改变，并导致不孕或卵巢功能衰竭。当然，这些结果需要进一步研究来证实。进口或本地生产的美白面霜在沙特市场广泛可得。禁止销售这些面霜是理想的做法，但不幸的是，大众媒体上展示名人及美容专家的广告使这些产品更受欢迎。另外，公共卫生当局应鼓励更多地依赖处方面霜来治疗皮肤色素沉着问题。
