Definition of "safrole" []

• A colorless or pale yellow oily liquid, C10H10O2, derived from oil of sassafras and other essential oils and used in making perfume and soap. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Many foods also contain carcinogens -- chemicals that cause cancer at high dose in laboratory animals -- such as safrole in cinnamon."
• "The main aromatic in hoja santa is safrole, the characteristic note of sassafras familiar from root beers, and a suspected carcinogen."
• "The recipe requires oil of sassafras, or another source of safrole."