[9] Phytol was found to cause pulmonary hemorrhage and necrosis of nose, throat and lung tissue when exposed in aerosol to Sprague Dawley rats, with no safe dose range being established.

[10] In ruminants, the gut fermentation of ingested plant materials liberates phytol, a constituent of chlorophyll, which is then converted to phytanic acid and stored in fats.

In 2020, Tokyo Smoke, a Canadian cannabis company owned by Canopy Growth at the time; pulled every phytol-containing product from their shelves and issued a 48 hour deadline to suppliers, demanding 'written confirmation' if it was included.

Indirect evidence has been provided that, in contrast to humans, diverse non-human primates can derive significant amounts of phytol from the hindgut fermentation of plant materials.

[20] Phytol has been investigated for its potential anxiolytic, metabolism-modulating, cytotoxic, antioxidant, autophagy- and apoptosis-inducing, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, immune-modulating, and antimicrobial effects.