Investigation of heavy metal contamination and microbiological quality of massage oils sold in Türkiye

This study aimed to determine the heavy metal content and microbiological contamination levels of 10 aromatic massage oils containing different extracts selected by random sampling method. The ICP-MS technique was used to determine heavy metal levels. Aerobic mesophyll general bacteria, yeast and mold count, Enterobacteriaceae, coliform bacteria count, Escherichia coli count, and Staphylococcus-Micrococcus presence analyses were performed to determine microbiological contamination. The Analysis of massage oils revealed that none of the samples had yeast/mold, coliform bacteria E. coli. However, Enterobacteriaceae was grown in 2 samples, and Staphylococcus-Micrococcus was grown in 5. Arsenic was not detected in any of the massage oil samples. However, the presence of highly toxic heavy metals such as aluminum, lead, mercury, and cadmium in some samples was considered a concern. These results suggest that it will be important to monitor the production and marketing processes of the products more carefully and to review the existing standards, as massage oils may pose a public health problem.