Baby Safety / Compounds / Pulegone

Is Pulegone safe for babies and kids?

Context-dependent for kids

Not medical or professional safety advice, and not a substitute for a qualified clinician — consult one. Full disclaimer →

Infants are highly susceptible to Pulegone due to lower body weight, immature detoxification pathways, and dietary exposure through contaminated grains or breast milk.

What is pulegone?

The IUPAC name is (5R)-5-methyl-2-propan-2-ylidenecyclohexan-1-one.

Also known as: (5R)-5-methyl-2-propan-2-ylidenecyclohexan-1-one, (+)-Pulegone, d-Pulegone, Pulegon.

IUPAC name
(5R)-5-methyl-2-propan-2-ylidenecyclohexan-1-one
CAS number
89-82-7
Molecular formula
C10H16O
Molecular weight
152.23 g/mol
SMILES
CC1CCC(=C(C)C)C(=O)C1
PubChem CID
442495

Risk for babies

Context-dependent

Infants are highly susceptible to Pulegone due to lower body weight, immature detoxification pathways, and dietary exposure through contaminated grains or breast milk.

Neonates and infants up to 12 months have incomplete blood-brain barrier development, immature Phase I/II metabolic enzymes (particularly CYP3A4, UGT1A1), and higher gastrointestinal permeability. Equivalent doses produce higher internal concentrations and longer residence times.

What to do: Minimize infant exposure through source control. For breastfeeding mothers: reduce maternal exposure. For formula-fed infants: use certified low-migration bottles and verified water sources. Consult pediatrician regarding any concerns.

Risk for pregnant and nursing people

Severe risk

Abortifacient; hepatotoxic doses overlap with abortifacient doses — historically lethal when used as abortifacient

Regulatory consensus

1 regulatory bodyhas classified Pulegone.

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 kids encounter pulegone

  • Personal Care — essential oils containing pulegone
  • Food — pennyroyal tea (AVOID), mint oils (trace)

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Pulegone:

  • 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

Is pulegone safe for kids?

Infants are highly susceptible to Pulegone due to lower body weight, immature detoxification pathways, and dietary exposure through contaminated grains or breast milk.

What products contain pulegone?

Pulegone appears in: essential oils containing pulegone (Personal care); pennyroyal tea (AVOID) (Food); mint oils (trace) (Food).

What should I do if my child is exposed to pulegone?

Minimize infant exposure through source control. For breastfeeding mothers: reduce maternal exposure. For formula-fed infants: use certified low-migration bottles and verified water sources. Consult pediatrician regarding any concerns.

See Pulegone in the baby app

Look up products containing pulegone, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in baby View raw API data

Sources (6)
  1. PubChem Compound Database (2026) — database
  2. FDA Adverse Event Reporting System — Pennyroyal Oil + Pulegone Hepatotoxicity Case-Fatality Framework (Anderson et al. 1996 case-series; abortifacient-misuse fatality cluster) (1996) — regulatory
  3. IFRA Standard 51st Amendment — Pulegone in fragrance products (skin-allergen + reproductive-toxicity + hepatotoxicity restriction; usage-level limits per product category) (2024) — regulatory
  4. EFSA Scientific Opinion on Pulegone and Menthofuran in Flavourings (FGE.92 + FGE.92.Rev.1 — restriction of pulegone-bearing herbal products in foodstuffs; herbal-tea cohort analysis) (2016) — regulatory
  5. EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 Annex III — Pulegone restriction (toothpaste + leave-on/rinse-off product limits per concentration framework) (2009) — regulatory
  6. Anderson IB, Mullen WH, Meeker JE et al. — Pennyroyal toxicity: measurement of toxic metabolite levels in two cases and review of the literature (canonical pennyroyal-oil/pulegone-fatality cohort, JAMA Internal Medicine) (1996) — study

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