Product Code Database
Denatonium, usually available as denatonium benzoate (under such as Denatrol, BITTERANT-b, BITTER+PLUS, Bitrex, Bitrix, and Aversion) and as denatonium saccharinate ( BITTERANT-s), is the bitterest chemical compound known, with bitterness thresholds of 0.05 ppm for the benzoate and 0.01 ppm for the saccharinate. It was discovered in 1958 during research on by T. & H. Smith of Edinburgh, Scotland, and registered under the trademark Bitrex.
Dilutions of as little as 10 ppm are unbearably bitter to most people. Denatonium salts are usually colorless and odorless solids, but are often traded as solutions. They are used as () to prevent inappropriate ingestion. Denatonium is used in denatured alcohol, antifreeze, preventive nail biting preparations, respirator mask fit-testing, , soap, , and Nintendo Switch game cards to prevent accidental swallowing or choking by children. It is not known to pose any long-term health risks.
The name denatonium reflects the substance's primary use as a denaturant and its chemical nature as a cation, hence Onium ion as a Neo-Latin suffix.
Denatonium can act as a bronchodilator by activating bitter taste receptors in the airway smooth muscle.
Denatonium is commonly included in placebos used in clinical trials to mimic the bitter taste of certain medications.
Denatonium benzoate is an ingredient in certain and varnishes designed to discourage nail biting, as the bitter denatonium serves as an Aversives.
Denatonium also discourages consumption of poisonous alcohols such as methanol and additives such as ethylene glycol. It is also added to many kinds of harmful liquids, including (such as nail polish remover), , , toiletries and other personal care items, special nail polish for preventing nail biting, and various other household products. It is also added to less hazardous aerosol products (such as ) to discourage inhalant abuse of the volatile vapors.
In 1995, the U.S. state of Oregon required that denatonium benzoate be added to products containing sweet-tasting ethylene glycol and methanol such as antifreeze and windshield washer fluid to prevent poisonings of children and animals. In December 2012, U.S. manufacturers voluntarily agreed to add denatonium benzoate to antifreeze sold nationwide.
Animals are known to have different sensitivities to the effects of denatonium. It is used in some animal repellents (especially for such large as deer). It has been used to safeguard from human consumption, as humans are able to detect denatonium at much lower concentrations than rodents.Frank ME, Bouverat BP, MacKinnon BI, Hettinger TP. The distinctiveness of ionic and nonionic bitter stimuli. Physiol Behav. 2004 Jan;80(4):421-31.
Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 game cartridges are coated in denatonium benzoate to prevent young children from consuming them.
Lithium Button cell, which can cause severe internal injuries if swallowed, are sometimes coated with denatonium benzoate to discourage small children from swallowing them.
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