Abstract
Parabens pollute the environment and show harmful effects on humans and animals. This study is the first description of parabens in the hair of stray cats, which living in the city, may be considered as sentinel and/or indicator species for evaluation of the risk of human exposure to pollutants in the outdoor urban environment. The levels of methylparaben (MeP), ethylparaben (EtP), propylparaben (PrP), butylparaben (BuP) and benzylparaben (BeP) were evaluated with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. MeP in levels above limit of detection (LOD) was found in 99% of samples with mean 302.9 ± 418.5 pg/mg (median 164.5 pg/mg), PrP in 94% of samples with mean 180.8 ± 266.9 pg/mg (median 82.6 pg/mg) and EtP in 83% of samples with mean 77.51 ± 91.24 pg/mg (median 47.15 pg/mg). BuP in levels above LOD was observed in 53% of samples with mean 18.7 ± 43.03 pg/mg (median 5.8 pg/mg) and BeP in 6% of samples with mean 1.5 ± 9.23 pg/mg (median < LOD). Moreover some differences in paraben levels were noted in animals of various ages. The results show that stray cats are significantly exposed to some parabens, which indicates the high concentration of these compounds in the outdoor urban environment and suggest relatively high risk of exposure of city dwellers to these compounds.