Benzyl alcohol is a well-tolerated anaesthetic. Like other anaesthetics, it reversibly suppresses neuronal activity (1).

It protects against the hepatotoxicity of Acetaminophen which is a commonly used analgesic and antipyretic drug of which an overdose can cause severe liver injury and even liver failure resulting in 70,000 hospitalisations and 500 deaths each year in the USA, however Benzyl Alcohol itself is cytotoxic at high concentrations and is not effective in primary human hepatocytes (2).

In 2019, the European Union Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF) concluded the re-evaluation of Benzyl Alcohol in its use as a food additive stating that exposure to Benzyl Alcohol (E 1519) does not raise safety concerns for reported uses and use levels (3).

References__________________________________________________________________

(1) Al-Hasan YM, Krishnan HR, Ghezzi A, Prado FJ 3rd, Robles RB, Atkinson NS. Tolerance to anesthesia depends on synaptic proteins. Behav Genet. 2011 Sep;41(5):734-45. doi: 10.1007/s10519-011-9451-8.

(2) Du K, McGill MR, Xie Y, Jaeschke H. Benzyl alcohol protects against acetaminophen hepatotoxicity by inhibiting cytochrome P450 enzymes but causes mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death at higher doses. Food Chem Toxicol. 2015 Dec;86:253-61. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2015.10.016.

(3) EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF), Younes M, Aquilina G, Castle L, Engel KH, Fowler P, Fürst P, Gürtler R, Gundert-Remy U, Husøy T, Mennes W, Moldeus P, Oskarsson A, Shah R, Waalkens-Berendsen I, Wölfle D, Boon P, Crebelli R, Di Domenico A, Filipič M, Mortensen A, Van Loveren H, Woutersen R, Gergelova P, Giarola A, Lodi F, Frutos Fernandez MJ. Re-evaluation of benzyl alcohol (E 1519) as food additive. EFSA J. 2019 Oct 30;17(10):e05876. doi: 10.2903/j.efsa.2019.5876.