Volume: 42 Issue: 1
Valorization of undesired pulegone in Mentha essential oil by selective catalytic reduction: An overview
Year: 2020, Page: 86-93, Doi: https://doi.org/10.62029/jmaps.v42i1.Rout
Received: March 9, 2020 Accepted: June 15, 2020 Published: July 1, 2020
Pulegone is a natural, oxygenated monoterpene found in the essential oil of most of the Mentha species. It is a cheap and renewable starting chemical for the semi-synthesis of many high-value products. Fumigation bioassays have shown pulegone as a toxic monoterpene and it is also included in the Proposition 65 List of compounds known to cause cancer, by the Office of Environment Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA). Pulegone is an intermediate compound in Mentha essential oil biosynthesis pathway, eventually leading to the formation of different valuable compounds such as menthone, isomenthone, menthol, isopulegol, carvone, thymol, and menthofuran. Essential oils of Mentha arvensis and Mentha piperita that are available in the market do contain pulegone. More than 1.5% of pulegone content in the oil is generally not recommended for health-care applications. After the isolation of menthol crystal from M. arvensis essential oil, the remaining de-mentholized oil (DMO) is enriched with pulegone. The high percentage of pulegone in DMO and other essential oils would always be subjected to regulatory guidelines. Alternative utilization strategies for pulegone by its value-addition through chemical processes are reviewed here.
Keywords: Catalytic reduction, Dementholized oil, Mentha, Pulegone, Valorization
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© CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow-226015
Prashant Kumar, Debasmita Sahoo, Chandan S Chanotiya, Ashween D Nannaware, Priyabrat Mohapatra, Bibhudatta Pradhan, Prasant K Rout. 2020. Valorization of undesired pulegone in Mentha essential oil by selective catalytic reduction: An overview. J Med Aromat Plant Sci 42: 86-93.
