Source: https://reeflabel.com/ingredients/enzacamene/ Chemical (organic) UV filter · Reef research: Some concern # 4-Methylbenzylidene Camphor (Enzacamene) A UVB filter used outside the US, and phased out of the EU. Banned in - Palau - Thailand Also excluded where only mineral sunscreen is allowed - Maui County - Hawaiʻi County Not approved in the US, so US sunscreens do not contain it. ## Is 4-Methylbenzylidene Camphor (Enzacamene) safe for your skin? The European Commission banned 4-MBC in cosmetics on human-health grounds after its scientific committee (SCCS) could not rule out genotoxicity and found sufficient evidence of thyroid and estrogen-system effects. The animal-study effects it cites appeared at the dose levels given below, and the SCCS did not assess reef effects. - SCCS opinion SCCS/1640/21 (adopted 29 April 2022): it could not conclude 4-MBC is safe up to the then-permitted 4%, because the data were insufficient to evaluate potential genotoxicity, and it could not derive a maximum safe concentration. - Endocrine disruption: the SCCS found sufficient evidence that 4-MBC may act as an endocrine disruptor with effects on both the thyroid and estrogen systems. Evidence for effects on the androgen system came only from in vitro tests. - Dose context: in animal studies, estrogen-system effects appeared at 100 mg/kg bw/day and above, and oral thyroid effects at 50 mg/kg bw/day and above (NOAEL 25 mg/kg bw/day). - [SCCS (European Commission) opinion SCCS/1640/21 on 4-Methylbenzylidene camphor (4-MBC), adopted 29 April 2022](https://health.ec.europa.eu/publications/4-methylbenzylidene-camphor-4-mbc_en) - [SCCS/1640/21 final opinion on 4-MBC (full text, PDF)](https://health.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-08/sccs_o_262.pdf) Last reviewed October 14, 2026. This summarises what regulators and published studies found. It isn't medical advice. ## Where it’s restricted Named in the law or guidance | Location | Status | Since | | --- | --- | --- | | [Palau](https://reeflabel.com/locations/palau/) [law text ↗](https://www.palaugov.pw/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/RPPL-No.-10-30-re.-The-Responsible-Tourism-Education-Act-of-2018.pdf) | In force | January 1, 2020 | | [Thailand (all national parks)](https://reeflabel.com/locations/thailand-national-parks/) [law text ↗](https://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2564/E/175/T_0001.PDF) | In force | August 4, 2021 | ### Also not allowed under mineral-only rules 4-Methylbenzylidene Camphor (Enzacamene) isn’t named in these laws, but they allow only mineral (zinc oxide or titanium dioxide) sunscreens, so a product containing it is excluded anyway. - [Maui County (Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi)](https://reeflabel.com/locations/maui-county/) (in force since October 1, 2022) - [Hawaiʻi County (Big Island)](https://reeflabel.com/locations/hawaii-county/) (in force since December 1, 2022) ## Why it’s regulated The EU banned 4-MBC in cosmetics through Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/996 (3 April 2024): products containing it cannot be placed on the EU market from 1 May 2025, and cosmetic products containing it cannot be made available on the EU market from 1 May 2026. The reason given was a potential risk to human health (endocrine disruption and unresolved genotoxicity) from the SCCS opinion, not reef damage. ## What the reef research says Danovaro et al. (2008) is the main coral study: in sealed bags on Acropora fragments, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor was one of four sunscreen ingredients (with butylparaben, octinoxate and oxybenzone) that caused complete bleaching at very low doses, while octocrylene, ethylhexyl salicylate and avobenzone had little or no effect. For 4-MBC the doses were 33 µL/L (Red Sea, bleaching from 24 hours) and 50 µL/L (Andaman Sea, 95% bleaching by 62 hours), given as volumes rather than measured concentrations. A 2021 critical review said the design could not control temperature, oxygen, light or flow, reported only nominal volume-based doses, and that no usable toxicity threshold could be taken from the paper. The authors themselves said their sunscreen dose contained more UV filter than most natural waters. In two surveys of coral tissue reviewed in 2021, median 4-MBC was below the detection limit in both, with detections in 21% of samples in one survey (up to 32 ng/g). We found no other coral toxicity study of 4-MBC on its own, and the same review called any firm conclusion about UV filter risk to corals premature. - [Danovaro et al. 2008, Environmental Health Perspectives (NIH PMC copy)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2291018/) - [Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/996, Official Journal L, 4.4.2024](http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/996/oj) - [Mitchelmore et al. 2021, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry: A critical review of organic UV filter exposure, hazard and risk to corals (two authors are from the Personal Care Products Council)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8048829/) **Related ingredients:** [Oxybenzone](https://reeflabel.com/ingredients/oxybenzone/), [Octinoxate](https://reeflabel.com/ingredients/octinoxate/), [Octocrylene](https://reeflabel.com/ingredients/octocrylene/) Last reviewed October 14, 2026. ### Label names we match - 4-methylbenzylidene camphor - enzacamene - 4-mbc - 4mbc - methylbenzylidene camphor ### Regulatory status **CAS:** 36861-47-9 **Wikidata:** [Q4637174](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4637174) **US FDA:** Not approved in the US. **EU:** Banned in the EU: products containing it cannot be placed on the market from 1 May 2025, or made available from 1 May 2026 (Regulation (EU) 2024/996). **Protects against:** UVB.