It is a component of various trees and plants, including turpentine (pine oil), anise, fennel, bay, tarragon, and basil.

[citation needed] Estragole is suspected to be carcinogenic and genotoxic, as is indicated by a report of the European Union Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products.

[citation needed] In particular, rodent studies show that these events are minimal probably in the dose range of 1–10 mg/kg body weight, which is approximately 100 to 1,000 times the anticipated human exposure to this substance.

For these reasons it is concluded that the present exposure to estragole resulting from consumption of herbal medicinal products (short time use in adults at recommended posology) does not pose a significant cancer risk.

[5] The Scientific Committee on Food from the Health and Consumer Protection Directorate took a more concerned position and concluded that "Estragole has been demonstrated to be genotoxic and carcinogenic.