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
LINALOL
90 per cent. and 95 per cent.
Synonym Linalool
Chemical name 3,7-Dimethyl-1,6-octadien-3-ol
Empirical formula C10H18O
Structural formula (CH3)2C=CHCH2CH2C(CH3)(OH)CH=CH2
Molecular weight 154.25
Definition Linalol, 90 per cent. contains not less than 90
per cent. C10H18O. Linalol, 95 per cent.
contains not less than 95 per cent. C10H18O.
Description Linalol is a naturally occurring terpene alcohol
found in the volatile oils obrtained from various
flowers, fruits, grasses, leaves, roots, seeds,
and woods. It has been obtained from a number of
these oils. It may be prepared by a
fractionation of saponified Brazilian Bois de
Rose oil. Commercial synthetic linalol has been
prepared by isomerization of geraniol and by
other methods.
Biological Data
Biochemical aspects
This alcohol is probably converted to geraniol which metabolises
to 1,5-dimethyl-1,5-hexadien-1,6-dicarboxylic acid, and
7-carboxy-3-methylocta-6-enoic acid (Patty, 1963).
Acute toxity
Animal Route LD50 References
(mg/kg
body-weight)
Rat oral 2790 Jenner et al., 1964
Short-term studies
Rat. In a 12-week feeding study on 15 males and 15 females
using mixed alcohols there was slight retardation of growth in male
rats at 50 mg/kg body-weigt/day, without effect on food efficiency
(Oser, 1967).
Long-term studies
None available.
Comments
Despite the scanty biochemical information evaluation can be
based on the available animal data. Further biochemical and metabolic
studies are needed.
EVALUATION
Estimate of acceptable daily intake for man
mg/kg body-weight
Conditional acceptance 0-0.25
Further work required
Biochemical and metabolic studies in animals and man and
long-term studies.1
REFERENCES
Jenner, P. M., Hagan, E. C., Taylor, J. M., Cook, E. L. & Fitzhugh, O.
G. (1964) Fd Cosmet. Toxicol., 2, 327
Oser, B. L. (1967) Unpublished report
Patty, F. A. (1963) Industrial Hygiene & Toxicology, Vol. II,
Interscience, London and New York
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.