Methylparaben, designated as food additive E218 in Europe, is a preservative that inhibits the growth of bacteria and fungi in many products, but it is frequently used in cosmetics. It and other parabens are produced by esterfying聽para-hydrobenzoic acid (hence the name "paraben").
MOTW Update:
February 13, 2017
Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate,听di-n-butyl phthalate,听methylparaben, and聽hexabromocyclododecane聽are all former Molecules of the Week. Last month, Janet Pelley wrote in聽聽that these and many other commercial products are principal components of common household dust. (A similar article appears in聽.) The alarming aspect of these findings is that all of these compounds are toxic, primarily to the human reproductive, hormonal, and nervous systems.
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