Body & Beauty / Compounds / α-Thujone

α-Thujone on your skin: a safety profile

High risk

(People-specific data is limited; this page draws from human adult context.) Neurotoxic — GABA-A receptor antagonist; causes seizures, convulsions; potentially lethal at high doses; EU limits in food/beverages (35 mg/kg bitters, 10 mg/kg other); alpha-thujone more toxic than beta-thujone

What is α-thujone?

The IUPAC name is (1S,4R,5R)-4-methyl-1-propan-2-ylbicyclo[3.1.0]hexan-3-one.

Also known as: (1S,4R,5R)-4-methyl-1-propan-2-ylbicyclo[3.1.0]hexan-3-one, alpha-Thujone, THUJONE, (-)-alpha-thujone.

IUPAC name
(1S,4R,5R)-4-methyl-1-propan-2-ylbicyclo[3.1.0]hexan-3-one
CAS number
546-80-5
Molecular formula
C10H16O
Molecular weight
152.23 g/mol
SMILES
CC1C2CC2(CC1=O)C(C)C
PubChem CID
261491

Risk for people

High risk

Neurotoxic — GABA-A receptor antagonist; causes seizures, convulsions; potentially lethal at high doses; EU limits in food/beverages (35 mg/kg bitters, 10 mg/kg other); alpha-thujone more toxic than beta-thujone

Regulatory consensus

1 regulatory bodyhas classified α-Thujone.

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 α-thujone

  • Food — absinthe, sage, thuja (cedar leaf)
  • Personal Care — essential oils containing thujone (sage, wormwood, tansy)
  • Fragrance — perfume, cologne, scented personal care products, household fragrance products, candles
    Identified in Fragrance Ingredient Safety Priority Research database (2,325 ingredients)

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to α-Thujone:

  • 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

What products contain α-thujone?

α-Thujone appears in: absinthe (Food); sage (Food); essential oils containing thujone (sage, wormwood, tansy) (Personal care); perfume (Fragrance); cologne (Fragrance).

See α-Thujone in the body app

Look up products containing α-thujone, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in body View raw API data

Sources (1)
  1. PubChem Compound Database (2026) — database

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