In Vitro Genotoxic and Cytotoxic Evaluation of Phenoxyethanol in Human Lymphocytes: A Commonly Used Preservative in Cosmetics

ABSTRACT Phenoxyethanol is widely used as a preservative in many cosmetic products and is considered to be safe. although there are some toxicity studies on phenoxyethanol, no detailed research evaluating its genotoxicity in human lymphocytes is available in the literature. This study aims to assess phenoxyethanol′s cytotoxic and genotoxic profiles in human peripheral blood lymphocytes. For evaluation of genotoxic and cytotoxic effects of phenoxyethanol, chromosomal aberration (CA) and micronucleus (MN) tests were applied In both tests, lymphocyte cultures were treated with three concentrations (50, 25, 12.5 μg/mL) of phenoxyethanol and control groups (solvent, positive and negative controls). When examining the results of the chromosomal aberration test (CA) and the micronucleus test (MN), no significant differences were observed between the solvent control group and the application concentrations in either test. For the evaluation of cytotoxicity, mitotic index results showed a significant decrease at higher doses (50 and 25 μg/mL) compared to the solvent control. In conclusion, phenoxyethanol did not exhibit genotoxic effects (clastogenic and aneugenic) on human peripheral lymphocyte cells at the applied doses, although it did show a slight cytotoxic effect.