Santalum album (White Sandalwood) Oil

About

What it is and where it shows up.

Safed chandan (white sandalwood) is the essential oil steam-distilled from the heartwood of Santalum album L., a tree native to India belonging to the Santalaceae family. It is used as a natural aromatic flavouring agent in foods, as well as extensively in perfumery, cosmetics, and traditional Ayurvedic medicine.

Safety summary

The regulatory and scientific consensus.

Sandalwood oil from Santalum album has a well-established safety profile; its primary components α-santalol and β-santalol have an oral LD50 greater than 2 g/kg body weight in animals, and no ADI has been formally set due to its GRAS/flavouring status at typical food-use levels. Allergic contact dermatitis is occasionally reported, with hypersensitivity rates of 0.1–2.4% in tested populations. No IARC carcinogenicity classification exists; emerging research even suggests potential anti-carcinogenic properties of α-santalol.

Regulatory landscape

What food-safety regulators have decided.

Jurisdiction	Status	Note
Health Canada (Canada)	Restricted	Permitted as a food flavouring agent; Health Canada's Chemicals Management Plan proposes restrictions on topical personal-care use (body lotion, massage oil, body fragrance) for infants and children up to 8 years of age due to dermal exposure concerns, but food flavouring use is not restricted.source
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) (European Union)	Approved	Accepted for use as an aromatic food additive under Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 on flavourings; must comply with EFSA requirements when used as a food additive; ISO 3518:2002 specifies physicochemical quality standards.source
FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) (India)	Approved	Recognised as a traditional food flavouring ingredient under FSSAI Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011. Wild harvesting of Santalum album in India is heavily restricted by state forest departments; commercial use relies on cultivated or licensed sources.source
FDA (Food and Drug Administration) (United States)	Approved	Listed in FDA's Substances Added to Food database (formerly EAFUS) as a flavouring substance; JECFA specifications for flavourings apply; FEMA GRAS status recognized for use as a food flavouring at trace levels.source

Who should approach with care

Whose guidance would steer them away.

Infants — Health Canada proposes restricting topical sandalwood oil use in infants and children up to 8 years of age due to dermal exposure concerns; topical or high-dose ingestion should be avoided in this group.

Children — Health Canada's Chemicals Management Plan proposes limiting topical use of sandalwood oil (body lotion, massage oil, body fragrance) in children up to 8 years of age due to potential exposure risks.

Other — Individuals with known essential oil or fragrance contact allergies should exercise caution, as 0.1–2.4% of tested populations showed hypersensitivity to sandalwood oil; Australian sandalwood (S. spicatum) is of greater concern due to its high farnesol content, a recognised EU Cosmetics Regulation Annex III irritant.

Pregnancy — Insufficient clinical safety data exists for high-dose or therapeutic use of sandalwood oil during pregnancy; while food-level flavouring exposure is generally considered safe, supplemental or medicinal use should be discussed with a healthcare provider.

Research citations

The sources behind this verdict.

1PubMed. Enhancing Antimicrobial Efficacy of Sandalwood Essential Oil Against Salmonella enterica for Food Preservation, 2024. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
2PubMed. A Comparison of the Composition of Selected Commercial Sandalwood Oils with the International Standard, 2021. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
3PubMed. Re-discovering Sandalwood: Beyond Beauty and Fragrance, 2019. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
4PubMed. Sandalwood Album Oil as a Botanical Therapeutic in Dermatology, 2017. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
5PubMed. Safety assessment of sandalwood oil (Santalum album L.), 2008. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Independently researched5 citations