Health Concerns of the Ingredient:
Overall Hazard
Developmental &
reproductive toxicity
About PABA: A once-common sunscreen ingredient, now avoided due to allergic dermatitis and photosensitivity. Research indicates PABA has carcinogenic potential. PABA derivatives are now more commonly used, but th ... read more
About PABA: A once-common sunscreen ingredient, now avoided due to allergic dermatitis and photosensitivity. Research indicates PABA has carcinogenic potential. PABA derivatives are now more commonly used, but these too may have health concerns.
Function(s): Sunscreen Agent; Ultraviolet Light Absorber; UV ABSORBER; UV FILTER
Synoym(s): 4-AMINOBENZOIC ACID; AMINOBENZOIC ACID; P-AMINOBENZOIC ACID; P-CARBOXYANILINE; 4-AMINOBENZOIC ACID; 4-CARBOXYANILINE; AMBEN; AMINOBENZOIC ACID; ANTICANITIC VITAMIN; P-AMINOBENZOIC ACID; P-CARBOXYANILINE
Use restrictions
| Concern |
Reference |
|---|
| Violation of government restrictions - Banned or found unsafe for use in cosmetics | Canada - Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetics Ingredients |
| Violation of government restrictions - Banned or found unsafe for use in cosmetics | CosIng |
Allergies/immunotoxicity
| Concern |
Reference |
|---|
| Human toxicant or allergen - moderate evidence | Mancel, E |
| Limited evidence of immune system toxicity or allergies | Mackie BS, Mackie LE |
Multiple, additive exposure sources
| Concern |
Reference |
|---|
| Used in food or as an additive with limited or no toxicity information available | FDA Everything Added to Food |
| Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food | FDA Food Additive Status |
Biochemical or cellular level changes
| Concern |
Reference |
|---|
| Produces excess reactive oxygen species that can interfere with cellular signaling, cause mutations, lead to cell death and may be implicated in cardiovascular disease. | |
Data gaps
| Concern |
Reference |
|---|
| 5,298 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical see search results -> | NLM PubMed |
Enhanced skin absorption
| Concern |
Reference |
|---|
| Absorbs into the skin | Wang LH, Huang WS, Tai HM |
Cancer
| Concern |
Reference |
|---|
| Cancer - not classifiable/not likely to be human carcinogen | Int'l Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Carcinogens |
Persistence and bioaccumulation
| Concern |
Reference |
|---|
| Not suspected to be persistent | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
| Not suspected to be bioaccumulative | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
| Concern |
Reference |
|---|
| Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Ecotoxicology
| Concern |
Reference |
|---|
| Not suspected to be an environmental toxin | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Data Sources
| EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry. |
| European Commission. 2013. Cosing, the European Commission database with information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. Accessed on March 1, 2013 at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cosmetics/cosing/ . |
| FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) 2006. Food Additive Status List. Downloaded from http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/%7Edms/opa-appa.html, Oct 16, 2006. |
| FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). 2008. EAFUS [Everything Added to Food]: A Food Additive Database. FDA Office of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. |
| Health Canada. 2007. List of Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetic Ingredients. Canada's Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist. March 2007. |
| IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer). 2008. Overall Evaluations of Carcinogenicity to Humans, as evaluated in IARC Monographs Volumes 1-99 (a total of 935 agents, mixtures and exposures). |
| Mackie BS, Mackie LE. The PABA story. Australas J Dermatol. 1999 Feb;40(1):51-3. |
| Mancel, E., M. Drouet, et al. (1999). "[Allergy to sunscreens]." Allerg Immunol (Paris) 31(6): 195-9. |
| NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov. |
| Wang LH, Huang WS, Tai HM. 2007. Simultaneous determination of p-aminobenzoic acid and its metabolites in the urine of volunteers, treated with p-aminobenzoic acid sunscreen formulation. J Pharm Biomed Anal 43(4): 1430-1436. |
| {Allen, 1996} |
Products Containing the Ingredient
About the ratings
EWG provides information on personal care product ingredients from the published scientific literature, to supplement incomplete data available from companies and the government. The ratings below indicate the relative level of concern posed by exposure to the ingredients in this product - not the product itself - compared to other product formulations. The ratings reflect potential health hazards but do not account for the level of exposure or individual susceptibility, factors which determine actual health risks, if any.
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