Most of the preservatives may be harmful to the consumers due to
their potency to induce allergic contact dermatitis. Based on in vitro
assays and in vivo animal models, it was shown that parabens possess
estrogenic activity [6]. Since estrogen is a major etiological factor in
the growth and development of human breast cancer in majority
cases, it has been proposed that the use of parabens in cosmetics,
particularly underarmdeodorants and antiperspirants may contribute
to the rising incidence of breast cancer and they were detected in
human breast tumor tissues at low ng g−1 levels [1].