 Decades ago, a concern was raised about some of the components of the spiced tarragon, so much so that the European Union's Health and Consumer Protection Scientific Committee on Food eventually concluded that one of its constituents may damage DNA, cause cancer, and so we should reduce and restrict its use. But they were talking about an isolated chemical from tarragon being used as a flavoring agent in alcoholic beverages, canned fish, and fats and oils. As recently as 2011, reviews concluded that the consumption of the tarragon leaves themselves should present little or no risk. But this was based on studies done on rats. A 2012 study made me feel better, suggesting that while the isolated tarragon chemical may indeed be toxic to human liver cells, full extracts of the leaves were not, suggesting that the whole food may contain compounds that counteract the toxic effects. And so I was going to leave it at that, and not even do a video about it, since tarragon seemed to be in the clear, but a 2013 study on human white blood cells reopened the question, finding that whole leaf tarragon extracts may have DNA damaging properties after all. Remember the comet test? They conclude that tarragon does indeed appear to be mutagenic to at least a certain extent. However, the current data is not comprehensive enough to draw definitive conclusions regarding its potential risk to human health with sustained use, nor comprehensive enough to establish a safe dose or quantify the risk. Nevertheless, future use of tarragon in both diet or herbal medicine should be undertaken with an awareness of its potential toxicity. So what have I taken away from all this? Well, my family eats tarragon so rarely. It's not probably going to change our intake at all. But if you're a tarragon fanatic, I'd suggest moderating your intake and substituting another herb like a dash of fennel or aniseed or chervil, all of which have a similar licorice tarragon taste. The only caveat I could find is that if you pick chervil wild, I would be cautious as it bears a resemblance to an herb known all too well to Socrates, poison hemlock.