Food & Drink / Compounds / Calamus oil (beta-asarone)

Calamus oil (beta-asarone) in food: ingestion safety

Severe risk

Not medical or professional safety advice, and not a substitute for a qualified clinician — consult one. Full disclaimer →

Dietary β-asarone intake via Acorus-calamus rhizome + traditional-Asian-medicine preparations + flavored-bitter-liqueur cohort produces hepatocarcinogenic systemic effects per IARC vol 56 Group 2B + B6C3F1 mouse cohort framework. FDA 21 CFR 189.110 banned 1968 (substance + extract + oil + tincture); EFSA 2002 ALARA-genotoxic-carcinogen framework + EU restriction + Council of Europe natural-source restriction all ground the severe-magnitude dietary-cohort hazard. The ban is the primary risk-management tool — non-compliant supply remains a documented exposure path.

What is calamus oil (beta-asarone)?

Also known as: Calamus Oil, Аирное масло.

CAS number
8015-79-0

Risk for people

Severe risk

Dietary β-asarone intake via Acorus-calamus rhizome + traditional-Asian-medicine preparations + flavored-bitter-liqueur cohort produces hepatocarcinogenic systemic effects per IARC vol 56 Group 2B + B6C3F1 mouse cohort framework. FDA 21 CFR 189.110 banned 1968 (substance + extract + oil + tincture); EFSA 2002 ALARA-genotoxic-carcinogen framework + EU restriction + Council of Europe natural-source restriction all ground the severe-magnitude dietary-cohort hazard. The ban is the primary risk-management tool — non-compliant supply remains a documented exposure path.

Regulatory consensus

1 regulatory bodyhas classified Calamus oil (beta-asarone).

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
EDC Assessment—Suspected endocrine disruptor

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where you encounter calamus oil (beta-asarone)

  • Personal Care — perfume (historical), aromatherapy
  • Food — flavoring (restricted)

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Calamus oil (beta-asarone):

  • Avoidance (no chemical substitute)
    Trade-offs: Direct chemical substitution requires verification that the replacement does not introduce new hazards (regrettable substitution). Conduct full hazard assessment of proposed alternative before adoption.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×

Frequently asked questions

Is calamus oil (beta-asarone) safe for you?

Dietary β-asarone intake via Acorus-calamus rhizome + traditional-Asian-medicine preparations + flavored-bitter-liqueur cohort produces hepatocarcinogenic systemic effects per IARC vol 56 Group 2B + B6C3F1 mouse cohort framework. FDA 21 CFR 189.110 banned 1968 (substance + extract + oil + tincture); EFSA 2002 ALARA-genotoxic-carcinogen framework + EU restriction + Council of Europe natural-source restriction all ground the severe-magnitude dietary-cohort hazard. The ban is the primary risk-management tool — non-compliant supply remains a documented exposure path.

What products contain calamus oil (beta-asarone)?

Calamus oil (beta-asarone) appears in: perfume (historical) (Personal care); aromatherapy (Personal care); flavoring (restricted) (Food).

See Calamus oil (beta-asarone) in the food app

Look up products containing calamus oil (beta-asarone), compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in food View raw API data

Sources (6)
  1. PubChem Compound Database (2026) — database
  2. FDA 21 CFR 189.110 — Calamus and its derivatives prohibited as food substances (banned 1968 based on β-asarone hepatocarcinogenicity in B6C3F1 mouse cohort; substance + extract + oil + tincture all banned) (1968) — regulatory
  3. IARC Monographs Volume 10 + Supplement 7 + Volume 56 — Calamus (β-asarone Group 2B Possibly Carcinogenic to Humans; rodent hepatocarcinogenicity) (1987) — regulatory
  4. EFSA Scientific Committee on Food — α + β-Asarone (Acorus calamus) opinion (genotoxic carcinogen — ALARA principle; flavouring-restriction framework) (2002) — regulatory
  5. IFRA Standard 51st Amendment — Acorus calamus oil + derivatives prohibited from fragrance use (β-asarone genotoxicity + IARC 2B classification basis) (2024) — regulatory
  6. Council of Europe — Active Principles (Constituents of Toxicological Concern) Contained in Natural Sources of Flavourings — β-Asarone genotoxic-carcinogen restriction (2014) — regulatory

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →