Time-dependent hormetic dose responses of skin care product mixtures to Vibrio qinghaiensis sp.-Q67: Appearance and quantification

Zhong-Wei Gu; Yu Xie; Peng Huang; Ting-Ting Ding; Meng-Ting Tao; Shu-Shen Liu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166651

Time-dependent hormetic dose responses of skin care product mixtures to Vibrio qinghaiensis sp.-Q67: Appearance and quantification

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Dec 15:904:166651. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166651. Epub 2023 Aug 28.

Authors

Zhong-Wei Gu¹, Yu Xie², Peng Huang³, Ting-Ting Ding², Meng-Ting Tao³, Shu-Shen Liu⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China. Electronic address: zwgu_tju@163.com.
² State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China. Electronic address: ssliuhl@263.net.

PMID: 37647971
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166651

Abstract

Hormesis is a widely recognized and extensively studied phenomenon. However, few studies have described the quantitative characteristics of hormesis required for appropriate risk assessment. Although skin care product (SCP) mixtures and their active ingredients can induce the hormesis of Vibrio qinghaiensis sp.-Q67 (Q67), the quantitative characteristics of time-dependent hormetic dose responses in SCPs have not yet been investigated. In this study, 28 SCP mixtures were tested for luminescence toxicity against Q67 after five exposure durations (0.25, 3, 6, 9, and 12 h). With increasing exposure duration, the concentration response curves (CRCs) were classified as constant monotonic nonlinear (S-shaped) for four SCPs, S- to hormetic (J-shaped) for 13 SCPs, and constant J-shaped for 11 SCPs. Of 140 CRCs, 98 were J-shaped. An increased frequency of SCPs inducing hormesis was observed. The toxicity (pEC₅₀) of the SCPs was independent of the exposure duration and product type. The maximum stimulatory effect (E_min) of the 12 SCPs increased with exposure duration. We proposed a modified parameter, the width of inhibition dose zone (WIDZ; EC₅₀/EC₁₀), to depict the width of inhibition dose zone. The WIDZ of S-shaped CRCs were significantly larger than that of J-shaped CRCs. In addition, the characteristic parameters reported in the general literature were analyzed. The good linear relationship between EC₅₀ and the maximum stimulatory effective concentration (EC_min) indicated that toxicity may be transformed into stimulatory effects over exposure durations. The width of stimulation dose zone (WSDZ) and E_min of the seven SCPs had the same increasing trends with increasing exposure duration. The combination of WIDZ with other characteristic parameters (e.g., zero effective concentration point, EC_min, etc.) could better depict hormesis with low-dose stimulation and high-dose inhibition. The quantitative characteristics of the dose-responses of hormesis-inducing SCPs could provide reference basis for the risk assessment of SCP mixtures.

Keywords: Biphasic dose-response; Hormetic effect; JSFit; Personal care products; Sub-NOAEL.

MeSH terms

Hormesis*
Luminescence
Skin Care
Vibrio*

Supplementary concepts

Vibrio qinghaiensis