Preparative separation of menthol and pulegone from peppermint oil (Mentha piperita L.) by high-performance counter-current chromatography

摘要

The present paper describes a very convenient separation method of the six terpenoids: menthol and its isomers including neomenthol, isomenthone, and menthone, as well as terpinen-4-ol and pulegone, from peppermint oil (Mentha piperita L.) by high-performance counter-current chromatography (HPCCC). A two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (4: 1: 4: 1, v/v) was applied. All compounds were separated with purity in a range between 94 and 99%, as determined by GC-MS. A novel method for the fast purification of active compounds, such as menthol and its derivatives, and detoxification, through the removal of pulegone, of one of the most popular essential oils was proposed for the first time. The method can be easily scaled-up for industrial purposes. (C) 2014 Phytochemical Society of Europe. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.