Peppermint Oil is produced in various countries including USA, India, China, Hungary, Italy and Spain. The Peppermint plant is Mentha piperita Linnaeus.
It is mainly used in the flavour industry with inhouse blending to produce various flavours.
It is extracted from the surfaces of leaves by steam distillation.
The oil itself consists primarily of
alpha-pinene ( turpentine ) 2,6,6-trimethylbicyclo[3,1,1]hept-2-ene C10H16
beta-pinene 6,6-dimethyl-2-methylene-beta-pinene C10H16
limonene ( Oil of lemon and orange ) 1-methyl-4-(1-methylethenyl)cyclohexene C10H16
beta-phellandrene
menthone - ( 15-25%) 5-methyl-2-(1-methylethyl)cyclohexanone C10H18O
menthol - highly desirable (> 45%) 5-methyl-2-(1-methylethyl)-cyclohexanol C10H20O
menthofuran - an undesirable compound
isomenthone
caryophyllene 4,11,11-trimethyl-8-methylene-caryophyllene C15H24
