Body & Beauty / Compounds / Tonalide (AHTN)

Tonalide (AHTN) on your skin: a safety profile

Moderate risk

(People-specific data is limited; this page draws from human adult context.) Bioaccumulative polycyclic musk; suspected endocrine disruptor; detected in human adipose tissue and breast milk; under EU OSPAR review

What is tonalide (ahtn)?

The IUPAC name is 1-(3,5,5,6,8,8-hexamethyl-6,7-dihydronaphthalen-2-yl)ethanone.

Also known as: 1-(3,5,5,6,8,8-hexamethyl-6,7-dihydronaphthalen-2-yl)ethanone, Tonalide, Tonalid, Tetralide.

IUPAC name
1-(3,5,5,6,8,8-hexamethyl-6,7-dihydronaphthalen-2-yl)ethanone
CAS number
21145-77-7
Molecular formula
C18H26O
Molecular weight
258.4 g/mol
SMILES
CC1CC(C2=C(C1(C)C)C=C(C(=C2)C(=O)C)C)(C)C
PubChem CID
89440

Risk for people

Moderate risk

Bioaccumulative polycyclic musk; suspected endocrine disruptor; detected in human adipose tissue and breast milk; under EU OSPAR review

Regulatory consensus

3 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified Tonalide (AHTN). The classifications differ — that's the data.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
EDC Assessment2024Suspected endocrine disruptor
IFRA2020restrictionIFRA restriction — environmental persistence
EU_REACH2020CoRAPCoRAP evaluation — environmental EDC

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 tonalide (ahtn)

  • Personal Care — perfume, deodorant, lotion, shampoo, soap
  • Consumer Products — detergent, air freshener, fabric softener
  • 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 Tonalide (AHTN):

  • Ethylene brassylate
    Trade-offs: Alternative fragrance ingredient; individual safety profile should be assessed per IFRA standards; sensitization potential varies by compound; patch testing recommended for sensitive individuals.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×
  • Habanolide
    Trade-offs: Alternative fragrance ingredient; individual safety profile should be assessed per IFRA standards; sensitization potential varies by compound; patch testing recommended for sensitive individuals.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×
  • Exaltolide
    Trade-offs: Alternative fragrance ingredient; individual safety profile should be assessed per IFRA standards; sensitization potential varies by compound; patch testing recommended for sensitive individuals.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×

Frequently asked questions

What products contain tonalide (ahtn)?

Tonalide (AHTN) appears in: perfume (Personal care); deodorant (Personal care); detergent (Consumer products); air freshener (Consumer products); perfume (Fragrance).

Why do regulators disagree about tonalide (ahtn)?

Tonalide (AHTN) has been classified by 3 agencies including EDC Assessment, IFRA, EU_REACH, with differing conclusions. 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. See the regulatory consensus table on this page for the full picture.

See Tonalide (AHTN) in the body app

Look up products containing tonalide (ahtn), 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 →