Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Chemical composition of the essential oil and isolation of two main constituents of Mentha pulegium L.

  • Research Articles
  • Published:
Vegetos Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Aromatic and medicinal plants are the reservoirs of a vast quantity of molecules with different activities. Pennyroyal or Mentha pulegium L. is one of the miraculous plants that is very rich in aromatic essence and mostly used for their medicinal virtues. The purpose of the present work is to determine the chemical composition of the essential oil of the flowering tops of pennyroyal, which were harvested during July 2017 in M’Rirt (Middle-Atlas, Morocco), and to separate its constituents. The analysis of the essential oil, extracted by hydrodistillation, was made using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The results of this analysis showed that the essential oil of pennyroyal contains two main compounds: pulegone and piperitenone with a rate of 71.97 and 26.04%, respectively. These two molecules represent 98.01% of the identified products. Subsequently, this essence was split on the open column of silica using an elected official of growing polarity in order to isolate certain compounds. Two main constituents were isolated and identified by the analysis of their spectroscopic data.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The data used in this article to support the finding of this study are included in this article.

References

  • Adams RP (2007) Identification of essential oils components by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy. 4th Edn. Allured: Carol Stream, IL, pp 804

  • AFNOR (1996) Huile essentielle, recueil des normes françaises. 5ème édition.1. échantillonnage et méthodes d’analyse, 2.spécifications, AFNOR, Paris

  • Aid K, Alami I, Benali D, Zemzami M, Mokhtari A, SoulaYmani A (2003) Multiplication massive in vitro de Mentha pulegium. Biologie & Santé 3(2):244–251

    Google Scholar 

  • Anonyme Source: Direction de la protection de végétaux-Rabat (1999) Ministère de l’Agriculture. Rabat- Maroc

  • Bellakhder J (1997) Contribution à l’étude de la pharmacopée traditionnelle au Maroc: La situation actuelle, les produits, les sources du savoir, 343p

  • Chraibi M, Amrani M, Farah A, Bari A, Benziane Ouaritini Z (2018) Étude ethnobotanique sur l’utilisation de Mentha pulegium, Mentha piperita et Pelargonium graveolens au nord du Maroc (Taounate) et évaluation de leur pouvoir antimicrobien. Eur Sci J August, 14, 24, ISSN: 1857–7881 (Print) e—ISSN 1857–7431

  • El Arch M, Satrani B, Farah A, Bennani L, Boriky D, Fechtal M, Blaghen M, Talbi M (2003) Composition chimique et activités antimicrobienne et insecticide de l’huile essentielle de Mentha rotundifolia du Maroc. Acta Botanica Gallica 150(3):267–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guignard JL, et Dupont F (2004) Botanique: Systématique moléculaire, 13éme éd. Masson, Paris, pp 237

  • Kiemele DJ, Silvertein RM, Webster FX (2016) Identification spectrométrique de composés organiques. 3ème édition. De Boeck Superieur, pp 480

  • Kovats E (1965) Gas chromatographic characterization of organic substances in the retention index system. Adv Chromatogr 1:229–247

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lahsissene H, Kahouadji A (2010) Analyse ethnobotanique des plantes médicinales et aromatiques de la flore marocaine: cas de la région de Zaër. Phytothérapie 8:202–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mohammadhosseini M, Venditti A, Mahdavi B (2021) Characterization of essential oils and volatiles from the aerial parts of Mentha pulegium L. (Lamiaceae) using microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MAHD) and headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) in combination with GC-MS. Nat Product Res, 1–5

  • Mollaei S, Ebadi M, Hazrati S, Habibi B, Gholami F, Sourestani MM (2020) Essential oil variation and antioxidant capacity of Mentha pulegium populations and their relation to ecological factors. Biochem Syst Ecol 91:104084

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mollaeia S, Ebadib M, Hazratic S, Habibid B, Gholamia F, Sourestanie MM (2021) Essential oil variation and antioxidant capacity of Mentha pulegium populations and their relation to ecological factors. Biochem Syst Ecol 91(2020):104084

    Google Scholar 

  • Newall C (1996) Herbal medicines. A guide for health care professionals. In: Anderson LA, Philipson JD (eds). The Pharmaceutical Press, London, pp 296

  • Ouakouak H, Chohra M, Denane M (2015) Chemical composition, antioxidant activities of the essential oil of Mentha pulegium L, South East of Algeria. Int Lett Nat Sci 39:49–55

    Google Scholar 

  • Quézel P. et Santa S (1962) Nouvelle flore de l’Algérie et des régions désertiques méridionales. éd. CNRS, Paris, 1, 1‐565

  • Salhi S, Fadli M, Zidane L. et Douira A (2010) Etudes floristique et ethnobotanique des plantes médicinales de la ville de Kénitra (Maroc) LAZAROA 31: 133–146. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_LAZA.2010.v31.9 ISSN: 0210-9778

  • Sarikurkcu C, Eryigit F, Cengiz M, Tepe B, Cakir A, Mete E (2012) Screening of the antioxidant activity of the essential oil and methanol extract of Mentha pulegium L. From Turkey. Spectroscopy Lett 45:352–358

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Silva LF, das Graças CM, Batista LR, de Souza GM, Rodrigues LMA, de Rezende DACS, Teixeira ML, Carvalho MSS, de Andrade SJ, Nelson DL (2015) Chemical characterization, antibacterial and antioxidant activities of essential oils of Mentha viridis L. and Mentha pulegium L. (L). Am J Plant Sci 6:666–675

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Teixeiraa B, Marques A, Ramos C, Batista I, Serrano C, Matos O, Neng NR, Nogueira JMF, Alexandre SJ, Leonor NM (2012) European pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) from Portugal: chemical composition of essential oil and antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of extracts and essential oil. Indus Crops Products 36:81–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zantar S, Haouzi R, Chabbi M, Laglaoui A, Mouhib M, Boujnah M, Zerrouk MH (2015) Effect of gamma irradiation on chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Thymus vulgaris and Mentha pulegium essential oils. Radiation Phys Chem 115:6–11

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Zargari A (1990) Herbal medicines. Publication of Tehran University, Tehran

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Mr M. Ibn Tattou, Professor at the Scientific Institute of Rabat, for the species identification

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Phytochemistry, National Agency of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, 34000, Taounate, Morocco

    Smail Amalich

  2. Research Team of Chemistry of Bioactive Molecules and the Environment, Laboratory of Innovative Materials and Biotechnology of Natural Resources, Faculty of Sciences, Moulay Ismaïl University, B.P. 11201 Zitoune, 50070, Meknes, Morocco

    Hannou Zerkani, Imane Tagnaout, Cherrat Ali, Fadili Kamal & Touria Zair

Authors
  1. Smail Amalich
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hannou Zerkani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Imane Tagnaout
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Cherrat Ali
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Fadili Kamal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Touria Zair
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Smail Amalich.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in the present paper.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Amalich, S., Zerkani, H., Tagnaout, I. et al. Chemical composition of the essential oil and isolation of two main constituents of Mentha pulegium L.. Vegetos 37, 82–93 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42535-023-00572-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42535-023-00572-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation