Fragrance chemicals in domestic and occupational products

Epidemiological studies have described an increasing prevalence of fragranc e allergy and indicated an association with hand eczema. 59 domestic and oc cupational products intended for hand exposure were subjected to gas chroma tography-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) analyses to test the hypothesis that fr agrance chemicals known to have the potential to cause contact allergy but not included in fragrance mix (FM) may be common ingredients in these produ cts. A quantitative analysis of 19 selected fragrances was performed by GC- MS. Further analysis of GC-MS data revealed the presence of 43 other fragra nce chemicals/groups of fragrance chemicals in the products investigated. A mong the 19 target substances the most commonly detected were limonene in 7 8%, linalool in 61% and citronellol in 47% of the products investigated. Th e FM ingredients were present in these products with the following frequenc ies: oak moss (evernic acid methylester) 2%, cinnamic, alcohol 2%, cinnamic aldehyde (cinnamal) 3%, isoeugenol 5%, alpha -amylcinnamic aldehyde (amyl cinnamal) 8%, hydroxycitronellal 12%, eugenol 27%, and geraniol 41%. Thus, the chemical analyses of domestic and occupational products indicates that investigation of potential contact allergy related to these products types should consider fragrance allergens additional to those in the FM, since th ese may occur with high frequency. (C) Munksgaard, 2001.