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ChEBI: An ortho-fused polycyclic arene consisting of five fused benzene rings. It is obtained during the distillation of petroleum.

Dermal application of picene in an early design limited study on mice gave negative results for carcinogenicity. More recently, picene gave positive results when tested in three dermal application studies on mice, two of which were initiation–promotion experiments. Subcutaneous injection into newborn and adult mice and young rats gave positive results in mice but negative results in rats.