FAO Nutrition Meetings
Resort Series No. 44A
WHO/Food Add./68.33
TOXICOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF SOME
FLAVOURING SUBSTANCES AND
NON-NUTRITIVE SWEETENING AGENTS
Geneva, 21-28 August 1967
The Eleventh Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food
Additives is published as FAO Nutrition Meetings Report Series,
1967, No. 44; Wld Hlth Org. techn. Rep. Ser., 1968, 383. This
Report contains general considerations, including the principles
adopted for the evaluation, and a summary of the results of the
evaluations of a number of food additives. Additional information,
such as biological data and a toxicological evaluation, considered at
that meeting, is to be found in this document.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
World Health Organization
1967
CITRONELLOL
90 per cent. and 98 per cent. total alcohols
Chemical name Citronellol
Empirical formula C10H20O
Structural formula
Molecular weight 156.27
Definition Citronellol, 90 per cent. total
alcohols, contains not less than 90 per
cent. C10H20O
Citronellol, 98 per cent. total
alcohols, contains not less than 98 per
cent. C10H20O.
Description Citronellol may be obtained by reduction
of citronellal or geraniol, or by
fractional distillation of geranium oil
or citronella oil. It may also be
prepared synthetically. It is a
colourleas oily liquid having a
rose-like odour.
Biological Data
Biochemical aspects
In rabbits this alcohol metabolizes to 7-carboxy-and
7-hydroxymethyl-3-methylocta-6-enoic acids, and these are excreted in
the urine (Fischer & Bielig, 1940).
Acute toxicity
None available.
Short-Term Studies
Rat. In a 12-week feeding study on 15 males and 15 females,
using mixed alcohols, there was slightly retarded rate of growth of
males without effect on food utilization at 50 mg/kg body-weight/day
(Oser, 1967).
Long-term studies
None available.
Comments
The available biochemical information is scanty but the
short-term study can be used as a basis for evaluation. 1
EVALUATION
Estimate of acceptable daily intake for man
mg/kg-body-weight
Conditional acceptance 0-0.25
Further work required
Biochemical and metabolic studies and long-term studies.1
REFERENCES
Fischer, F. G. & Bielig, H. J. (1940) Hoppe-Seylers Z., 266, 73
Oser, B. L. (1967) Unpublished report
1 When considering the group of flavouring substances citral,
citronellol, linalol, linalyl acetate and geranyl acetate, the
Committee stressed the urgent need to elucidate the metabolic pathways
which may be common to these widely distributed substances. They found
it reasonable to require that one or more of these substances should
be made the subject of long-term studies. Whether this limitation can
be made and which substances should be chosen may follow from a
consideration of the biochemical evidence when this becomes available.