| Use of Biomonitoring Data to Evaluate Methyl Eugenol Exposure Steven H. Robison1 and Dana B. Barr2 1The Procter & Gamble Company, Central Product Safety Division, Product Safety and Regulatory Affairs, Miami Valley Laboratories, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; 2Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Laboratory Sciences, Organic Analytical Toxicology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Abstract
Methyl eugenol is a naturally occurring material found in a variety of food sources, including spices, oils, and nutritionally important foods such as bananas and oranges. Given its natural occurrence, a broad cross-section of the population is likely exposed. The availability of biomonitoring and toxicology data offers an opportunity to examine how biomonitoring data can be integrated into risk assessment. Methyl eugenol has been used as a biomarker of exposure. An analytical method to detect methyl eugenol in human blood samples is well characterized but not readily available. Human studies indicate that methyl eugenol is short-lived in the body, and despite the high potential for exposure through the diet and environment, human blood levels are relatively low. The toxicology studies in animals demonstrate that relatively high-bolus doses administered orally result in hepatic neoplasms. However, an understanding is lacking regarding how this effect relates to the exposures that result when food containing methyl eugenol is consumed. Overall, the level of methyl eugenol detected in biomonitoring studies indicates that human exposure is several orders of magnitude lower than the lowest dose used in the bioassay. Furthermore, there are no known health effects in humans that result from typical dietary exposure to methyl eugenol. Key words: biomonitoring, exposure assessment, methyl eugenol, risk assessment. Environ Health Perspect 114:1797–1801 (2006) . doi:10.1289/ehp.9057 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 12 June 2006]
This article is part of the mini-monograph "Use of Biomonitoring Data in Exposure and Human Health Risk Assessments." Address correspondence to S.H. Robison, The Procter & Gamble Company, 11810 East Miami River Rd., Cincinnati, OH, USA 45252. Telephone: (513) 627-0674. Fax: (513) 627-1927. E-mail: robison.sh@pg.com The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. S.H.R. is employed by Procter & Gamble, which does not intentionallly add methyl eugenol to its products ; however, some naturally derived oils that are used may contain trace levels of methyl eugenol. D.B.B declares she has no competing financial interests. Received 1 February 2006 ; accepted 8 June 2006.
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