Estrogenic is not the type of activity consumers want from their personal care products. And while products are not meant to deliver it, and generally do not, a new in vitro test from SGS and NIR Industry can prove it—apparently more conveniently than before.
The OEDTest was designed to verify the absence or presence of estrogenic disruptive activity in finished product samples. According to SGS, until now, cosmetic manufacturers have relied on laboratory techniques such as high-throughput liquid chromatography, gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, which only screen for molecules referenced in their libraries. The OEDTest instead screens for activity in the sample.
How does it work? In two steps. First, by screening the sample for estrogenic endocrine disruptor activity on a molecular level. If there is evidence of activity, the sample is then evaluated more precisely using a cellular test to identify agonist or antagonist effects. Agonistic effects imitate natural hormone activation, whereas antagonistic effects inhibit natural hormone activation. In either case, disrupting gene transcription creates changes in the regulation of hormones.
The results are then evaluated and used by toxicologists to produce a Product Information File (PIF). The absence of estrogenic risk is just one added piece of information that increases the safety aspects of the CMR certificate. Taken together, the test takes up to two weeks from sample delivery to final report and, in addition, SGS specialists can offer advice on reformulations and/or potential solutions for eliminating the molecules responsible.
All tests comply with directives from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (level 2) as well as relevant cosmetic regulations.
