Ch. Lalitha and P. V. V. Prasad Rao
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: Anaplastology
The Visakhapatnam, the City of destiny is accomplished with varied types of Eco systems with different environmental conditions. The humid and polluted atmospheres play a major role in shaping Visakhapatnam environs. Majority of the urbanites generally use personal care products like antibacterial soaps, deodorants, creams and moisturizers .These products are the blends of seven base ingredients that include water, emulsifiers, preservatives, thickeners, colors, fragrances and stabilizers. Microorganisms have the ability to grow and reproduce in cosmetic products which may cause spoilage or bring chemical changes in cosmetic products. In order to protect the user from the adverse effects of the damaged cosmetics, preservatives are used to increase the shelf life of the products. Preservatives are the synthetic chemicals that have antimicrobial effect. The skin is an intricate habitat for a diverse population of microbiota. The normal microbiota of skin plays a beneficial role by inhibiting colonization of pathogenic species. When the cosmetics or personal care products containing the preservatives are applied on to the skin, they inhibit the growth of microbes that harbor the skin. Some of the microbes become resistant to the preservatives and in some cases newly established colonization by a typically pathogenic microbe will replace the normal microbiota. It is proved that the long term use of products containing antibiotics leads to increased numbers of antibiotic-resistant resident microbiota. This concern could be extended to chemically synthesized antimicrobials in cosmetics because biological systems, by their very nature, are flexible and selectively adaptable. Hence there is need and necessity to know the extent of application of these products onto the body.The present research paper is an attempt to study the impact of preservatives on the skin microbiota. This work certainly provides new insights in the usage of personal care products.
The author, Ch.Lalitha has completed M.Phil in Microbiology and working as Lecturer in Microbiology in Govt. Degree college , Visakhapatnam. She is currently pursuing Ph.D in Andhra University, Visakhapatnam in the department of Environmental Sciences under the guidance of Prof.P.V.V.Prasada Rao.
