Phenol

OccurrenceIt is reported found in over 150 natural products including apricot, sour cherry, black currant, bilberry, cranberry, other berries, grapes, guava fruit, peach, pineapple, asparagus, onion, cooked potato, tomato, cinnamon bark, cassia leaf, ginger, pennyroyal oil, many cheeses, butter, milk, milk powder, boiled egg, fish and fish oil, cooked and cured meats, beer, wheaten bread, crisp bread, cognac, rose wine, cocoa, coffee, tea, whiskies, roasted filbert, roasted peanut, soybean, pecans, honey, avocado, Arctic bramble, passion fruit, beans, mushrooms, burley tobacco, cooked beef and chicken, fermented soy sauce, trassi, roasted almonds, sesame seed, fenugreek, mango, tamarind, Brazil nut, rice, rhubarb, licorice, buckwheat, watercress, malt, wort, dried bonito, loquat, myrtle berry, rosemary, Tahiti and Bourbon vanilla, endive, shrimp, crab, crayfish, clam, squid, truffle and Chinese quince.

HistoryPhenol’s first prominent use was by Joseph Lister (1827–1912) as an antiseptic. Throughout human history,infection often resulted in death,even when the wound could be surgically treated.A broken bone piercing the skin, which today is a painful but not life-threatening injury,historically resulted in infection and possible amputation or death. Lister was inspired by Louis Pasteur’s (1822–1895) germ theory of disease,and he began to use antiseptic methods during routine surgery during the 1860s.

Verwendenphenol is frequently used for medical chemical face peels. It may trap free radicals and can act as a preservative. Phenol, however, is an extremely caustic chemical with a toxicity potential. It is considered undesirable for use in cosmetics. even at low concentrations, it frequently causes skin irritation, swelling, and rashes.