Investigation of mercury contamination in lipstick sold in the Saudi market and the potential health risk

Background: Environmental contamination is a significant global health issue, with cosmetics and pharmaceuticals being major polluters. High concentrations of heavy metals, such as Hg, have been found to have toxic effects and may pose a threat to human health. This study aimed to determine the concentration of mercury (Hg) in lipsticks available in the Saudi Arabia market. Methods: In this study, 12 lipstick samples from three colors were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) to measure the content of Hg. Results: The concentration range of Hg was 0.004-0.296 ppm. Moreover, the systemic exposure dosage of mercury in the lipstick samples examined in this study ranged from 5.01 x 10(-8) to 1.43 x 10(-6) mu g/kg bw/day, while the range of the margin of safety was from 7.3 x 10(9) to 2.2 x 10(8). Discussion: The Hg concentration in all analyzed samples was less than 0.50 and 1 ppm, which indicated that the Hg level was within acceptable limits according to Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organisation (SASO) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA), respectively. On the other hand, the calculated margin of safety values for mercury exceeded the safe standard established by the WHO. The results derived from using hazard quotient (HQ) indices depict the potential carcinogenic health risk posed to consumers who employ red-colored lipsticks. Graphical Abstract