Microbial and chemical profiling of three counterfeit lip cosmetic products found in local night markets Tan E.L.Y.1,*, Jaron R. Jermaine1, Nizam S2 1Department of Diagnostic & Allied Health Science, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Management & Science University, Malaysia 2Institut Tadbiran Awam Negara (INTAN), Jab. Perkhidmatan Awam Malaysia, 50480, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia *Corresponding Author Eva Tan Lee Yin Head Department of Diagnostic & Allied Health Science, Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, Management & Science University, 40100, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. Email: eva_tan@msu.edu.my
Online published on 30 August, 2019. Abstract Microbial contamination which exceeds CFU limit and chemical changes in the lipsticks may pose threat to consumers. This study aimed to determine the abundance of microorganisms and the types of microorganism contaminating the counterfeit lip cosmetic products and identify the differences in chemical components among different brands of counterfeit and original lip cosmetic products. Unused lipstick samples (0.1g) were dissolved in 2ml of Tween80 and subjected to 3 different isolation media for microbial profiling. Further microbial testing was conducted using standard biochemical testing and Gram staining. Quantitative analysis (CFU) was conducted using pour plate method. Chemical analysis of lipstick products was analysed using ATR-FTIR (SHIMADZU). The results indicated that all the brands were contaminated with common human opportunistic pathogen namely Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus pyogenes. The mean bacterial count in counterfeit lipsticks were 0.1x104 CFU/mL. However, the bacterial count in original lipsticks were within the prescribed limit where the mean bacterial count were 0.04 x 104 CFU/mL. A total number of 23 chemicals and 40 chemicals were detected in counterfeit and original lipsticks respectively with only 10 chemicals being common among them which are the basic chemicals used in lipstick preparation. The findings indicate that possible compromises in Good Manufacturing Practices and quality of raw materials used in counterfeit lipsticks could lead to increased microbial contamination, which can be a potential health risk to consumers. Top Keywords Lipstick, Counterfeit, Contamination, Microbial, ATR-FTIR. Top |