Determination of aflatoxin B1 in cosmetics containing botanical ingredients by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay

Botanicals are widely used in cosmetic products due to their rich chemical compositions. There are numerous factors that affect the chemical profile of botanical content including growing, harvesting, drying and storage conditions. The reliability of a cosmetic product containing botanical ingredients is closely related to the quality control processes of the raw material. Aflatoxins can be transmitted to the botanicals at every stage of the production. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ELISA method for the determination of aflatoxins in 20 personal care products containing plant extracts and/or oil. In this study, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) was not detected in one of the samples containing chamomile extract, rose, shea & orange, and cocoa butter. Of the tested samples, 35% exceeded the legal limits of AFB1. The highest level was determined in sample containing coconut butter (15.13 ppb). These results show that raw materials of cosmetic products should be regularly and effectively controlled.