Chemical composition of the essential oil of Mentha pulegium L. from Taftan Area by means of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS)

The aerial parts of Mentha pulegium L. were collected during the flowering stage from the Taftan aera (Baluchestan, Iran) using hydro distillation. The essential oil was extracted from plants’ aerial parts. The highest ratio of oil yield to dried plant weight was 2.642 (w/w) (when using hexane) and 2.053% w/w for the second oil (without using hexane). The oils were analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) technique. In the first oil (when using Hexane), 35 constituents embracing 96.19% of total essential oil were recognized. Oxygen containing monoterpens was the main group of constituents of the oil. Pulegone (65.52%), 1,8 cineole (11.10%), isopulegone (2.53%), beta-pinene (2.45%) were the major components of the first oil extracted from M. pulegium L. In the second oil (without solvent), 42 constituents were recognized consisting of 82.94% of its total essential oil. The main constituents for this specie included; pulegone (48.88%), eucalyptol (3.99%), trans-ocimene (1.58%), camphene (2.29%), spathulenol (6.99%) and unknown compound (0.1%). The findings of the research revealed that the M. pulegium essential oil has a considerable percentage of oxygenated terpenoids with the anti-microbial property. Key words: Menthe pulegium L., essential oil, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), pulegone, 1,8 cineole, isopulegone.