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A simple, rapid and reproducible method is presented for the analysis of green-tea extracts in different cosmetic formulations and in in-vitro skin extracts. Cosmetically active principal components were used for determination of complex assembled green-tea extracts. The catechins selected were catechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epigallocatechin gallate, and epicatechin gallate, because of their efficacy and their concentrations in green-tea extracts. The determination was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), on a reversed-phase (RP) column, coupled to a single-quadrupole mass spectrometer (MS) via an electrospray ionization (ESI) interface. Detection was performed in the negative selected-ion-monitoring (SIM) mode. A detection limit between 5 and 15 ng g−1 was achieved in methanol-water-ascorbic acid extracts from different emulsions. A routine analytical procedure could be established with good quantitative reliability. During validation, the repeatabilities (relative standard deviation) for catechin standard solutions were found to be 1.1–2.7% (within one day) and 2.2–4.3% (day-to-day). Recoveries from spiked placebos were 98–105%. The method was successfully used to determine the storage stability of green-tea extract in cosmetic formulations and the in-vitro penetration of green-tea extract into the skin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of a selective and sensitive HPLC method for the determination of semipermanent hair colorants in cosmetic formulations is proposed. The separation and identification of N-hydroxyalkyl nitrophenylenediamines and nitroaminophenols were performed by HPLC with on-line, post-column, photochemical derivatisation, using a reversed phase, ion-pair system with 1,8-diaminooctane and heptansulfonate in the mobile phase. Two UV spectra (photoreactor on and off) were obtained for each analyte, adding information for confirming peak identity. Analyte-modified spectral properties were used to increase the method sensitivity. The proposed method was successfully applied to quality control and stability studies of cosmetic formulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]