An official website of the United States government.

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases
U.S. Department of Agriculture
  1. Home
  2. Mentha x piperita

Mentha x piperita (Lamiaceae)

Common Names
Peppermint
How this plant is used
Generally Recognized as Safe
Subspecies
nothosubsp. piperita
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
Download these results as:
CSV
EXCEL
PDF
List of plant chemicals.
Click on column headings to sort table by that column. *Unless otherwise noted all references are to (Duke, 1992)
Chemical Name Activity Count Plant Part Low Parts Per Million High Parts Per Million Standard Deviation Reference
(+)-ALPHA-PINENE 0 Leaf 14.0 145.0 Duke, J. A. Writeups or information summaries on approximately 2,000 economic plants, USDA, ARS, Beltsville, MD 20705.
(+)-ISOMINTLACTONE 0 Leaf 0.0 0.3 Duke, J. A. Writeups or information summaries on approximately 2,000 economic plants, USDA, ARS, Beltsville, MD 20705.
(+)-LIMONENE 0 Leaf 160.0 1590.0 -1.41 Duke, J. A. Writeups or information summaries on approximately 2,000 economic plants, USDA, ARS, Beltsville, MD 20705.
(+)-PULEGONE 4 Leaf 0.0 440.0 -1.00 Duke, J. A. Writeups or information summaries on approximately 2,000 economic plants, USDA, ARS, Beltsville, MD 20705.
(-)-LIMONENE 0 Leaf Jim Duke's personal files.
(-)-LINALOOL 0 Leaf 5100.0 1.23 *
(-)-LINALYL-ACETATE 0 Leaf 3900.0 1.00 *
(-)-MENTHOL 4 Leaf 570.0 22800.0 1.29 *
(-)-MENTHONE 2 Leaf 310.0 12400.0 1.48 *
(-)-MINTLACTONE 0 Leaf 0.3 3.0 Duke, J. A. Writeups or information summaries on approximately 2,000 economic plants, USDA, ARS, Beltsville, MD 20705.
1,3-DIMETHYL-CYCLOHEXANONE 0 Essential Oil *
1,4-DIMETHOXY-BENZENE 0 Leaf 0.0 0.0 Duke, J. A. Writeups or information summaries on approximately 2,000 economic plants, USDA, ARS, Beltsville, MD 20705.
1,8-CINEOLE 67 Leaf 45.0 3000.0 -0.14 *
1-MENTHYL-BETA-D-GLUCOSIDE 0 Plant J.S. Glasby Dict.Pls Containing 2ndary Metabolite. 1991.
2,6-DIMETHYL-PYRIDINE 0 Leaf *
2-BUTYL-ISOVALERIC-ACID-METHYL-ESTER 0 Leaf 2.0 20.0 Duke, J. A. Writeups or information summaries on approximately 2,000 economic plants, USDA, ARS, Beltsville, MD 20705.
2-ETHYL-HEX-AN-1-OL 0 Leaf 0.0 0.0 Duke, J. A. Writeups or information summaries on approximately 2,000 economic plants, USDA, ARS, Beltsville, MD 20705.
2-HYDROXY-BENZALDEHYDE 0 Leaf 0.0 0.0 Duke, J. A. Writeups or information summaries on approximately 2,000 economic plants, USDA, ARS, Beltsville, MD 20705.
2-METHYL-BUT-2-EN-1-AL 0 Leaf 0.0 0.1 Duke, J. A. Writeups or information summaries on approximately 2,000 economic plants, USDA, ARS, Beltsville, MD 20705.
2-METHYL-BUTYRIC-ACID-METHYL-ESTER 0 Leaf 0.0 0.0 Duke, J. A. Writeups or information summaries on approximately 2,000 economic plants, USDA, ARS, Beltsville, MD 20705.
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
Download these results as:
CSV
EXCEL
PDF
List of plant activities.
Click on column headings to sort table by that column. *Unless otherwise noted all references are to (Duke, 1992)
Activity Chemical Count Reference
Sedative 21 Ortiz de Urbina, A.V., Martin*, M.L., Montero, M.J., Moran, A., and San Roman, L. 1988. Sedating and Antipyretic Activity of the Essential Oil of Calamintha sylvatica subsp. Ascendens. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 25: 165-171, 1989.
Serotoninergic 2 Pizzorno, J.E. and Murray, M.T. 1985. A Textbook of Natural Medicine. John Bastyr College Publications, Seattle, Washington (Looseleaf).
Soap 2 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Spasmogenic 7 Fitoterapia No.59-1984.
Spasmolytic 1 *
Spermicide 2 Martindale's 28th
Spermigenic 2 Werbach, M. 1993. Healing with Food. Harper Collins, New York, 443 pp.
Sprout-Inhibitor 1 Duke, J.A.. Personal Communication.
Succinoxidase-Inhibitor 1 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Sunscreen 3 Lazarova*, G., Kostova, I., Neychev, H. 1992. Photodynamic damage prevention by some hydroxycoumarins. Fitoterapia 64(2): 134-136, 1993.
Suppository 1 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Surfactant 1 *
Sweetener 2 Leung, A. Y. and Foster, S. 1995. Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients 2nd Ed. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 649 pp.
Sympathomimetic 1 Newall, C. A., Anderson, L. A. and Phillipson, J. D. 1996. Herbal Medicine - A Guide for Health-care Professionals. The Pharmaceutical Press, London. 296pp.
Taenicide 1 Martindale's 28th
Termiticide 6 Jacobson, M., Glossary of Plant-Derived Insect Deterrents, CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, FL, 213 p, 1990.
Termitifuge 1 Jacobson, M., Glossary of Plant-Derived Insect Deterrents, CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, FL, 213 p, 1990.
Testosterone-Hydroxylase-Inducer 1 *
Testosteronigenic 1 Werbach, M. 1993. Healing with Food. Harper Collins, New York, 443 pp.
Thymoprotective 1 Pizzorno, J.E. and Murray, M.T. 1985. A Textbook of Natural Medicine. John Bastyr College Publications, Seattle, Washington (Looseleaf).