Evaluation of the potential carcinogenicity of paraffins for medicinal and cosmetic uses--determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

A previously developed method for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in purified petroleum products was applied to some fully-refined paraffin samples for cosmetic and medicinal uses of Italian Pharmacopoeia grade materials. The analytical procedure used provided identification and quantitative assay for ng/g amounts of two well-known carcinogenic PAH, namely benzo[a]pyrene and benzo[b]fluroanthene, together with five other none-carcinogenic PAH. The method is sensitive and reliable for routine analysis of PAH content in these paraffins and is compared with very rapid pharmocopoeial tests based on different criteria of quality. The data obtained showed a lack in agreement between PAH content in paraffin samples and the results of pharmacopoeial tests.