Like many closely related phenol antioxidants,<unk>  has low acute toxicity (e.g., the desmethyl analog of<unk> , 2,6-di-tert-butylphenol, has an of >9 g/kg). The US Food and Drug Administration classifies<unk>  as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) as a food preservative when used according in an approved manner. In 1979, the National Cancer Institute determined that<unk>  was noncarcinogenic in a mouse model. Nevertheless, the World Health Organization discussed a possible link between<unk>  and cancer risk in 1986, and some primary research studies in the 1970s–1990s reported both potential for increased risk and potential for decreased risk in the area of oncology. Because of this uncertainty, the Center for Science in the Public Interest puts<unk>  in its "caution" column and recommends avoiding it. Based on various, disparate primary research reports,<unk>  has been suggested to have anti-viral activity, and the reports divide into various study types. First, there are studies that describe virus inactivation—where treatment with the chemical results in disrupted or otherwise inactivated virus particles. The action of<unk>  in these is akin to the action of many other organic compounds, e.g., quaternary ammonium compounds, phenolics, and detergents, which disrupt viruses by insertion of the chemical into the virus membrane, coat, or other structure, which are established methods of viral disinfection secondary to methods of chemical oxidation and UV irradiation. In addition, there is a report of<unk>  use, topically against genital herpes lesions, a report of inhibitory activity in vitro against pseudorabies (in cell culture), and two studies, in veterinary contexts, of use of<unk>  to attempt to protect against virus exposure (pseudorabies in mouse and swine, and Newcastle in chickens). The relevance of other reports, regarding influenza in mice, is not easily discerned. Notably, this series of primary research reports does not support a general conclusion of independent confirmation of the original research results, nor are there critical reviews appearing thereafter, in secondary sources, for the various host-virus systems studied with<unk> . Hence, at present, the results do not present a scientific consensus in favour of the conclusion of the general antiviral potential of<unk>  when dosed in humans. Moreover, as of March 2020, no guidance from any of the internationally recognized associations of infectious disease specialists had advocated use of<unk>  products as an antiviral therapy or prophylactic.
Butylated hydroxytoluene
Vinyl chloride
Coal tar
Triphenylchloroethylene
Triphenylbromoethylene
N-Nitrosodimethylamine
Carbon tetrachloride
Desmethylchlorotrianisene