What is it?
An essential oil distilled from elemi, a fragrant resin from trees of the genus Canarium. This ingredient name refers to Canarium commune, and elemi is also obtained from Canarium luzonicum. The oil is rich in limonene, along with elemol and elemicin. It is used as a fragrance, and elemi is a permitted natural flavoring in food.
Key information
- The FDA permits elemi from Canarium commune or Canarium luzonicum as a natural flavoring substance in food.
- One commercial elemi oil was about 46 percent limonene, followed by elemol, elemicin and alpha-phellandrene.
- Limonene must be named on EU cosmetic labels above 0.001 percent in leave-on or 0.01 percent in rinse-off products.
More information
Elemi oil is distilled from the resin. In a 2016 analysis of a commercial Canarium luzonicum oil, limonene made up about 46 percent, followed by elemol, elemicin and alpha-phellandrene; together those four accounted for about 79 percent of the oil. The FDA permits elemi from either Canarium commune or Canarium luzonicum as a natural flavoring substance in food.
Elemi oil has not been reviewed by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel or classified as an allergen by the EU’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety, and published safety data on the oil itself are scarce.
The constituent that draws scientific attention is elemicin, an alkenylbenzene related to estragole and methyleugenol. A 2012 study built computer models of how rats and people metabolize elemicin. It found only limited differences, less than 3.8-fold, between the two species in forming 1′-sulfoxyelemicin, described as elemicin’s ultimate carcinogenic metabolite. By comparison with estragole and methyleugenol, which have animal tumor data, it concluded that elemicin is a lower priority for risk management, while noting that elemicin itself has only limited toxicity data.
Limonene, the main constituent, is one of the fragrance allergens that must be named on EU labels above 0.001 percent in leave-on or 0.01 percent in rinse-off products, and EU rules cap its peroxide content. On labels, look for Canarium Commune Gum Oil, and for limonene on EU-style lists if you are allergic to it.
Sources: eCFR: 21 CFR 172.510, Natural flavoring substances; EXCLI Journal (2016): Essential oils from the Burseraceae family, chemical composition and antifungal activity; Chemical Research in Toxicology (2012): Physiologically based kinetic models for the alkenylbenzene elemicin in rat and human; EUR-Lex: Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1545 on labelling of fragrance allergens
