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Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases
U.S. Department of Agriculture
  1. Home
  2. Nepeta cataria

Nepeta cataria (Lamiaceae)

Common Names
Catnip
How this plant is used
Generally Recognized as Safe

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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 *
BETA-SITOSTEROL 47 Plant *
BETA-SITOSTEROL 47 Shoot 900.0 1.36 *
CALCIUM 28 Plant 739.0 6160.0 -0.79 *
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 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 *
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 *
CIS-OCIMENE 3 Plant 10.0 50.0 -0.34 *
CITRAL 53 Plant *
CITRONELLAL 20 Plant 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 126000.0 0.52 *
COBALT 2 Plant 1.4 11.8 -0.09 *
DIHYDRONEPETALACTONE 0 Plant 6.0 30.0 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 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 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 *
EPINEPETALACTONE 0 Plant 10.0 4000.0 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
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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
Quinone-Reductase-Inducer 1 Lee, S. K., Song, Y., Mata-Greenwood, E., Kelloff, G. J., Steele, V. E., Pezzuto, J. M. 1999. Modulation of in vitro Biomarkers of the Carcinogenic Process by Chemopreventive Agents. Anticancer Res., 19: 35-44.
Radioprotective 1 *
Respirainhibitor 1 Merck 11th Edition
Respirastimulant 1 Huang, K. C. 1993. The Pharmacology of Chinese Herbs. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL 388 pp.
Rubefacient 1 *
Sedative 11 Wagner & Wolff, eds. 1977. New Natural Products (RS164. I56. 176)
Serotoninergic 1 Pizzorno, J.E. and Murray, M.T. 1985. A Textbook of Natural Medicine. John Bastyr College Publications, Seattle, Washington (Looseleaf).
Soap 1 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Sodium-Sparing 1 Iwu, M.M. 1993. Handbook of African Medicinal Plants. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL 435 pp.
Spermicide 1 Malini, T. and Vanithakumari, G. 1989. Rat Toxicity Studies With B-Sitosterol. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 28: 221-234, 1990.
Spermigenic 1 Werbach, M. 1993. Healing with Food. Harper Collins, New York, 443 pp.
Sprout-Inhibitor 1 Duke, J.A.. Personal Communication.
Stimulant 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.
Stomachic 1 Bisset, N.G., ed. 1994. Herbal Drugs and Phytopharmaceuticals. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. 566 pp.
Suppository 1 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Taenicide 1 Martindale's 28th
Teratogenic 2 *
Termitifuge 1 Jacobson, M., Glossary of Plant-Derived Insect Deterrents, CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, FL, 213 p, 1990.
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).