Safrole is a natural product obtained from essential oil of the root bark of Sassafras tree. Safrole has been used as a flavoring agent in drugs and in the manufacture of heliotropin, perfumes, soaps, and piperonyl butoxide. Oil of sassafras, which contains safrole, was formerly used to flavor some soft drinks, such as root beer. However, this use or any other addition of safrole or oil of sassafras to food was banned in the United States in 1960 due to evidence of carcinogenicity. Numerous studies have shown that safrole from betel quid-containing safrole might be involved in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma in human due to the formation of DNA adducts. Safrole has also been used in the illicit production of the drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, or ecstasy), and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has designated safrole a List I Chemical. Anticancer and anti-diabetic properties of safrole were investigated in vitro and in vivo.