Constituents of aromatic plants: elemicin

No results of short-term or chronic toxicity studies have been found. Elemicin did induce UDS in hepatocytes from male rats. Studies on carcinogenicity were negative, but the 1'-hydroxy-metabolite of elemicin gave positive and negative results. The total intake of elemicin from essential oil seems to be limited. The main source of intake appears to be nutmeg. Further studies are needed to evaluate if the intake of elemicin may represent a health risk. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.