Peppermint oil

Peppermint (Mentha × piperita, also known as M. balsamea Willd.[1] ) is a hybrid mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint.

Peppermint has a high menthol content. The oil also contains menthone and carboxyl esters, particularly menthyl acetate.Peppermint oil also contains small amounts of many additional compounds includinglimonene, pulegone, caryophyllene and pinene.

Peppermint oil has a high concentration of natural pesticides, mainly pulegone (Found mainly in Mentha arvensis var. piperascens Cornmint, Field Mint, Japanese Mint and to a lesser extent-6,530 ppm in Mentha x piperita subsp. nothosubsp. piperita ) and menthone.

The chemical composition of the essential oil from peppermint (Mentha x piperita L.) was analyzed by GC/FID and GC-MS. The main constituents were menthol (40.7%) and menthone (23.4%). Further components were (+/-)-menthyl acetate, 1,8-cineole, limonene, beta-pinene and beta-caryophyllene.

These chemicals can make peppermint oil a useful chemical for the control of mites.