Basil EO Causing Cancer and Genetic Defects??

I just got in some EO and one of which is Basil, and on the Hazard statement is says "suspected of Causing Cancer" "Suspected of Causing Genetic defects"

Can anyone shed some light on this? Its rated for use in CP soap but I'm concerned with the Hazard statement.

Aromaweb (one of the sites I like to go to for EO safety info) cautions that high doses of Basil EO may be carcinogenic, especially if they contain a high amount of eugenol/chavicol. Scroll down to the safety paragraph here for more details: http://www.aromaweb.com/essential-oils/basil-oil.asp


IrishLass

Do you think if i adhere to the fragrance guidelines i should be ok? The last thing i want to do is harm myself or others, makes me want to not use it all together.

Fantastic website, I'll read it over! Thank you for the link

I'm not qualified to say one way or the other, but here is a page from one of the other EO sites I like to read (UsingEssentialOilsSafely). This is a direct link to their page containing info on potentially carcinogenic EOs and how to use them safely: http://www.usingeossafely.com/essen...nogenic-and-anti-carcinogenic-essential-oils/

Hopefully others here on the forum who are more 'in the know' will chime in soon.


IrishLass

I read so much about soapmaking on a daily basis that I keep a file with random notes so that I can go back and research the different topics later as they become more relevant to me. Under my "EO Notes" tab I had made the following note:

"Get Sweet Basil (or Basil Linalool) essential oil, with high linalool content (60%+) and low Methyl Chavicol (estragole). Do not purchase Basil ct Estragole (Ocimum basilicum L)."

Along with that note I had a link to the same Using EO Safely website that IrishLass referenced. It was a direct link to an article titled "What Kind of Basil is Lurking in Your Bottle and Why It Matters," but, unfortunately, the link no longer appears to be valid.

Of course, this note was made AFTER I had already purchased basil EO from New Directions Aromatics that is Ocimum basilicum, ct. Estragole. So while I will not likely purchase the same oil again, the few times I have used it I have found that a very little bit goes a long way and including it at more than 5% of a blend gets to be too much for my nose (i.e. 0.05oz basil in 1oz total EO blend). For such a low amount, and for personal use, I am unconcerned about using it. But again, in the future I will conduct more research and decide if a high linalool basil EO seems "safer" or if I should eliminate basil out of my EO arsenal entirely.

Since I have some Basil EO that I purchased from Camden Grey, I went to see which type they carry. It is the methyl chavicol type, with this note:

Our basil EO has contents of 70-72% of methyl chavicol and 15-18% of linalool. There is no written or concrete evidence that the content of methyl chavicol in Basil EO is a carcinogen. The day this evidence is forthcoming, it will most likely indicate carcinogenicity applies to cases of internal consumption or for very extensive and/or frequent applications of the oil directly to the skin. Flash point: 167F

I only have a small amount, and have only used it in one small batch. I will have to decide if I will even use the rest. It did blend nicely with Litsea EO.

I found this as a source link on the Wikipedia page about estragole (which is methyl chavicol):

http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/Scientific_guideline/2010/04/WC500089960.pdf

It's a public statement on it from the European Medicines Agency's Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. There are no studies of long-term health effects on human exposure but there are studies showing its carcinogenic effect on mice. However, the mice were all given large oral or injected doses. It has GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status from the FDA and is used as a food additive. There is no data on skin absorption effects.

Edited to Add: This means that Camden Grey's statement "There is no written or concrete evidence that the content of methyl chavicol in Basil EO is a carcinogen." is not completely true. There is concrete evidence of estragole's carcinogenic effect in mice, but not in humans. Semantics, I know, but things like that irritate me. Lying by omission is still lying.

If you are referring to using it in soap, then there is no worry. The warnings pertain to ingesting (eating/drinking) the EO, not use in a wash off product. There is also the factor of how much they are using. Usually they test truly unreasonable amounts in very small animals.