Italian scientists develop methods to determine caffeine and iodide in anti-ageing products

Italian scientists have developed detection methods in order to determine caffeine and iodide content in anti-ageing products to ensure that products carrying harmful ingredients are not manufactured.

Caffeine and iodide are two ingredients used in cellulite reduction cosmetic products that work to increase blood flow through the microcapillaries, increase the metabolism of fat loss or reduce fat formation, reports cosmeticsdesign.com.

To determine the caffeine and iodide content in anti-ageing products, the scientists designed two liquid chromatography (LC) separation methods using ultraviolet diode array (UV-DAD) and an electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) detection process.

Under the process, the compounds were separated by reversed phase chromatography with water (0.02% trifluoroacetic acid) and acetonitrile gradient elution and detected by UV-DAD at 254 nm, and by ESI-MS ionisation mode positive for caffeine and negative for iodide; with paracetamol used as internal standard.

The two methods were applied on many cellulite reduction cosmetic products, which are available in European herbalist shops, perfumeries and supermarkets.

It was found that the iodide content in a cream ranged from 0.3-6.8 mg/g, on the other hand, content of caffeine was higher and detected at a broader range at 0.33-60.88 mg/g.

According to the researchers, the levels should be taken into account when considering the personal iodide exposure of individuals in connection with the current official recommendations which are 150µg/day for iodine.

Study co-author Simona Pichini told the website that there is a need for conducting special tests on cellulite reduction cosmetic products to determine if the iodide and/or caffeine concentrations present in these products provide an increase in the daily intake amount and maybe harmful to consumers.

"Consumers who use the cellulite reduction products liberally and often might begin to approach unhealthy body levels," Pichini added.

Currently there are no reported restrictions for caffeine, whereas excess usage of the cellulite reduction products parallelly with the excessive intake of coffee or caffeine-containing medications may lead to health ailments such as irritability, insomnia and cardiac arrhythmia.