Compound Monograph
Phenol
Phenol is a simple aromatic compound — the parent of the phenols — that is corrosive and toxic in concentrated form.
Where Does It Come From?
Phenol is a naturally occurring aromatic alcohol (simple phenol). It is flagged as toxic.
Research & Evidence
Phenol is the simplest aromatic alcohol and the structural parent of the large family of plant “phenolic” compounds. Historically important as “carbolic acid,” it was one of the first surgical antiseptics. It occurs naturally in small amounts and as a breakdown product of more complex molecules, but the pure compound is an industrial chemical. It should not be confused with the broad and largely benign class of dietary polyphenols, even though those compounds share the phenol structural motif.
Toxicity & Safety
Concentrated phenol is genuinely hazardous: it is corrosive to skin and tissues and is toxic if absorbed, swallowed or inhaled, with reported oral lethal doses in animals in the low hundreds of milligrams per kilogram. It can cause chemical burns, nerve effects and systemic poisoning, and it should be handled only with appropriate protection. This profile is quite different from that of the trace phenolic compounds found in foods and herbs.