High-Performance Liquid Chromatographic Determination of p-Hydroxybenzoate Esters in Cosmetic Lotions and Creams

A method for quantitative analysis of p-hydroxybenzoate esters (parabens) in cosmetic lotions and creams was developed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Parabens were separated from the cosmetic base and other ingredients by bi-layer (upper ; celite, lower ; silica gel) column chromatography with Hexane-AcOEt (80 : 20). The eluate was extracted with acetonitrile. The acetonitrile layer was concentrated in vacuo and determined by HPLC on Develosil ODS by using a mobile phase of methanol-water (65 : 35, v/v). Recoveries of parabens obtained from model cosmetics were more than 95%. This method with clean-up procedure on bi-layer column chromatography and liquid extraction was much suitable for the determination of parabens in cosmetic lotions and creams.