Metabolites of the fragrance 2-(4-tert-butylbenzyl)propionaldehyde (lysmeral) in urine of children and adolescents in Germany - Human biomonitoring results of the German Environmental Survey 2014-2017 (GerES V).

The synthetic fragrance 2-(4-tert-butylbenzyl)propionaldehyde, also known as lysmeral, butylphenyl methylpropional, lilial, or lily aldehyde, is widely used in cosmetics, personal care products, laundry detergents, and air fresheners. It is classified as suspected to be harmful to fertility and possibly endocrine disrupting. Its maximum concentration in cosmetics is limited. First-morning void urine samples (N = 2133) were analysed for several metabolites of lysmeral (Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) No.: 80-54-6). Samples were collected in the population-representative German Environmental Survey for Children and Adolescents 2014-2017 (GerES V) from German residents aged 3-17 years. Four main metabolites tert-butylbenzoic acid, lysmerol, lysmerylic acid, and hydroxy-lysmerylic acid were found in quantifiable amounts in 100%, 99%, 40%, and 23% of the samples, respectively, with geometric mean concentrations of 10.21 μg/L (8.658 μg/gcrea) for tert-butylbenzoic acid, 1.528 μg/L (1.296 μg/gcrea) for lysmerol, and below the limit of quantification of 0.2 μg/L and 0.4 μg/L for lysmerylic acid and hydroxy-lysmerylic acid, respectively. Girls had higher urinary concentrations of lysmeral metabolites than boys. Usage of fragrances, fabric softener, and personal care products, especially perfume, was positively associated with urinary concentrations of lysmeral metabolites. Source identification builds a basis to derive proposals for reduction of exposure. These results can also provide the foundation for developing reference values for urinary metabolite concentrations of lysmeral in children and adolescents in Germany that will facilitate recognising future exposure trends.