Pine Oil: Evidence, Safety and How It Is Used

Safety first: pine oil in household cleaners and pine essential oil can both poison if swallowed. Case reports describe depressed alertness, breathing failure and lung inflammation after pine-oil cleaner was swallowed. [1][2] If anyone may have swallowed pine oil or a cleaner containing it, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (US) right away. Call 911 for collapse, a seizure or trouble breathing. See Poisoning: what to do first.

Two different things called "pine oil"

GBIF lists both Pinus sylvestris L. and Pinus pinaster Aiton as accepted names, in the pine family (Pinaceae). [3] EFSA describes "pine white oil", also known as turpentine oil, as an essential oil obtained from the oleoresin of Pinus pinaster. [4] A product called "pine oil" may therefore mean different things, and the botanical name and plant part on a label matter (reading a label). This page does not suggest any use of cleaning products on the body.

Traditional use

The sources we read do not describe traditional uses of pine oil, so we describe none. Pine pollen, a different material, has its own page (pine pollen).

What research shows

Aromatherapy trials in general are small and often measure self-reported feelings, and the oil in them is often a blend, so a trial of a mixed scent says little about pine alone. Claims that pine oil relieves pain or anxiety are drug claims in the FDA's wording when made for a product on sale. [6]

Safety

• Swallowing pine oil products. A medical review says pine oil ingestions are one of the most common accidental ingestions seen in clinical practice, with depressed mental state, respiratory failure and gut problems, and that treatment is supportive and deaths are rare. [1] In a hospital series of 22 patients who swallowed pine oil cleaner, the most common effects were irritation of mucous membranes and the gut, and ataxia (unsteady movement) was a frequent sign in children. [2] A chemical pneumonitis (lung inflammation) was seen in three of five children and three of 17 adults. [2]
• Skin and breathing. EFSA says pine white oil should be considered an irritant to skin and eyes and a skin and respiratory sensitiser. [4] In a review of patch-test studies, turpentine was one of nine oils with over 2% positive reactions, and most reactions came from pure oils or high-concentration products. [7] EFSA describes pine white oil as also known as turpentine oil. [4] Whether the turpentine in the patch-test review is the same material is not stated in the sources we read. See skin reactions and allergy.
• Asthma and lung disease. The mouse study above gives a reason for caution, not a finding in people. [5] See breathing problems and diffusers.
• Children and pets. Poison Control says essential oils should be locked up, out of the sight and reach of children and pets. [8] See essential oils around babies and children and pets.
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding, medicine interactions, liver and kidney: not described for pine essential oil in the sources we read. Ask a pharmacist (how interactions work).
• Surgery: tell the surgical team about any oil product.

Quality and adulteration

A chemical analysis found that commercial oils labeled as P. sylvestris showed a different form of alpha-pinene (an excess of the (-) form) than primary oils from the tree. [9] The authors say this kind of test can uncover mislabeling, use of the wrong plant material and adulteration in pine oil. [9] See purity and adulteration.

Official statements

• EFSA FEEDAP Panel (EU), 2023: pine white oil (Pinus pinaster) is an irritant and sensitiser; its feed-use limits do not apply to human use. [4]