Piperitone is a monoterpenoid that has been found in Mentha and has diverse biological activities.1,2,3,4 It is active against E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. typhimurium, S. aureus, R. leguminosarum, and B. subtilis in agar diffusion assays.1 Piperitone enhances the antibacterial activity of nitrofurantoin against several nitrofurantoin-resistant species of Enterobacteriaceae, including C. freundii, E. coli, and S. marcescens, by 3- to 20-fold.2 It exhibits feeding deterrent and repellent activities against ants (Crematogaster) with 80% deterrence index (D80) and 80% repellent index (R80) values of 0.13 µg/µl and 8.9 µg/cm2, respectively.3 Piperitone is insecticidal against C. maculatus eggs, larvae, and adults.4
1.Sivropoulou, A., Kokkini, S., Lanaras, T., et al.Antimicrobial activity of mint essential oilsJ. Agric. Food Chem.43(9)2384-2388(1995) 2.Shahverdi, A.R., Rafii, F., Tavassoli, F., et al.Piperitone from Mentha longifolia var. chorodictya Rech F. reduces the nitrofurantoin resistance of strains of EnterobacteriaceaePhytother. Res.18(11)911-914(2004) 3.Bowers, W.S., Ortego, F., You, X., et al.Insect repellents from the Chinese prickly ash Zanthoxylum bungeanumJ. Nat. Prod.56(6)935-938(1993) 4.Ketoh, G.K., Koumaglo, H.K., Glitho, I.A., et al.Comparative effects of Cymbopogon schoenanthus essential oil and piperitone on Callosobruchus maculatus developmentFitoterapia77(7-8)506-510(2006)