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Plant Nepeta cataria (Lamiaceae)

Common Names
Catnip
How this plant is used
Generally Recognized as Safe
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
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
BETA-NEPETALACTONE 0 Plant 125.0 2730.0 not available Duke, 1992 *
BETA-SITOSTEROL 47 Plant not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
BETA-SITOSTEROL 47 Shoot not available 900.0 1.36 Duke, 1992 *
CALCIUM 28 Plant 739.0 6160.0 -0.79 Duke, 1992 *
CAMPHOR 41 Plant 16.0 80.0 -0.61 List, P.H. and Horhammer, L., Hager's Handbuch der Pharmazeutischen Praxis, Vols. 2-6, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1969-1979.
CARVACROL 37 Plant not available not available not available Williamson, E. M. and Evans, F. J., Potter's New Cyclopaedia of Botanical Drugs and Preparations, Revised Ed., Saffron Walden, the C. W. Daniel Co., Ltd., Essex UK, 362 pp, 1988, reprint 1989.
CARYOPHYLLENE 31 Plant 40.0 3200.0 3.66 Duke, 1992 *
CARYOPHYLLENE-OXIDE 8 Plant 285.0 2365.0 4.03 Bourrel, C., Perineau, F., Michel, G., Bessiere, J.M. 1993. Catnip (Nepeta cataria L.) Essential Oil: Analysis of Chemical Constituents, Bacteriostatic and Fungistatic Properties. J. Ess. Oil Res., 5: 159-167.
CHROMIUM 24 Plant 0.3 2.7 -0.61 Duke, 1992 *
CIS-OCIMENE 3 Plant 10.0 50.0 -0.34 Duke, 1992 *
CITRAL 53 Plant not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
CITRONELLAL 20 Plant not available not available not available Williamson, E. M. and Evans, F. J., Potter's New Cyclopaedia of Botanical Drugs and Preparations, Revised Ed., Saffron Walden, the C. W. Daniel Co., Ltd., Essex UK, 362 pp, 1988, reprint 1989.
CITRONELLOL 15 Essential Oil not available 126000.0 0.52 Duke, 1992 *
COBALT 2 Plant 1.4 11.8 -0.09 Duke, 1992 *
DIHYDRONEPETALACTONE 0 Plant 6.0 30.0 not available List, P.H. and Horhammer, L., Hager's Handbuch der Pharmazeutischen Praxis, Vols. 2-6, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1969-1979.
DIHYDRONEPETALACTONE-N3 0 Plant 34.0 260.0 not available Bourrel, C., Perineau, F., Michel, G., Bessiere, J.M. 1993. Catnip (Nepeta cataria L.) Essential Oil: Analysis of Chemical Constituents, Bacteriostatic and Fungistatic Properties. J. Ess. Oil Res., 5: 159-167.
DIMETHYL-3,7-OXA-1-BICYCLO(3,3,0)OCT-2-ENE 0 Plant 15.0 90.0 not available Bourrel, C., Perineau, F., Michel, G., Bessiere, J.M. 1993. Catnip (Nepeta cataria L.) Essential Oil: Analysis of Chemical Constituents, Bacteriostatic and Fungistatic Properties. J. Ess. Oil Res., 5: 159-167.
EO 0 Plant 2000.0 13000.0 0.25 Bourrel, C., Perineau, F., Michel, G., Bessiere, J.M. 1993. Catnip (Nepeta cataria L.) Essential Oil: Analysis of Chemical Constituents, Bacteriostatic and Fungistatic Properties. J. Ess. Oil Res., 5: 159-167.
EPINEPETALACTONE 0 Essential Oil 1000.0 400000.0 not available Duke, 1992 *
EPINEPETALACTONE 0 Plant 10.0 4000.0 not available Leung, A. Y. and Foster, S. 1995. Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients 2nd Ed. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 649 pp.
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
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
Hallucinogenic 1 R.J. Hixtable (Huxtable, R.J. (as T. Max). 1992. This and That:The Essential Pharmacology of Herbs and Spices. Tips 13:15-20 Huxtable, R.J. 1992b. The Myth of Benficent Nature. The Risk of Herbal Preparations. Anns. Intern. Med. 117(2):165-6; Huxtable, R.
Hemolytic 1 Bisset, N.G., ed. 1994. Herbal Drugs and Phytopharmaceuticals. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. 566 pp.
Hepatoprotective 5 Duke, 1992 *
Hepatotoxic 2 Lewis, E.J. and Friedrich, E.C. 1989. The Essential Oil of Poliomintha incana. Planta Medica 56(2): 224-226, 1990.
Herbicide 8 Lydon, J. & Duke, S., The potential of pesticides from plants, pp. 1-41 in Craker, L. & Simon, J., eds, Herbs, Spices & Medicinal Plants: Recent Advances in Botany, Horticulture, & Pharmacology, v. 4, Oryx Press, Phoenix, 1989, 267pp.
Histaminic 1 Duke, 1992 *
Hypercholesterolemic 3 Spiller, G. A. 1996 (Spiller, G. A. Ed. 1996. CRC Handbook of Lipids in Human Nutrition. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. 233 pp.)
Hypertensive 1 Davies, S., and Stewart, A. 1990. Nutritional Medicine. Avon Books, New York. 509pp.
Hypocholesterolemic 9 Davies, S., and Stewart, A. 1990. Nutritional Medicine. Avon Books, New York. 509pp.
Hypoglycemic 6 Ivorra, M.D., Paya, M., and Villar, A. 1989. A Review of Natural Products and Plants as Potential Antidiabetic Drugs. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 27: 243-275, 1989.
Hypolipidemic 2 Duke, 1992 *
Hypotensive 7 Duke, 1992 *
Hypothermic 1 Duke, 1992 *
Immunomodulator 9 Economic & Medicinal Plant Research, 6: 189.
Immunostimulant 6 Pizzorno, J.E. and Murray, M.T. 1985. A Textbook of Natural Medicine. John Bastyr College Publications, Seattle, Washington (Looseleaf).
Immunosuppressant 2 Duke, 1992 *
Insect-Repellent 1 Duke, 1992 *
Insecticide 4 Grundy, D. L. and Still, C. C., Inhibition of acetylcholinesterases by pulegone-1,2-epoxide, Oest. Biochem. & Physiol., 23, 1985, 383-8.
Insectifuge 13 Bowers, W.S., Ortego, F., You, X., and Evans, P.H. Insect Repellents From The Chinese Prickly Ash Zanthoxylum bungeanum. Journal of Natural Products, 56(6): 935-938, 1993.
Insectiphile 1 Merck 11th Edition