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Mentha × piperita L.: name, one oil from Morocco, ISO 856

Mentha × piperita L.

Family
Lamiaceae
Genus
Mentha

Species

BinomialMentha × piperita
Accepted nameMentha × piperita L.
WCVP statusaccepted
FamilyLamiaceae
GenusMentha
IPNI identifierurn:lsid:ipni.org:names:450969-1

Source: Govaerts R. (ed.), World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, accessed on 21/09/2026.

Source: Plants of the World Online (POWO), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, taxon page « Mentha × piperita L. », archived copy of 17/10/2026 (Internet Archive), accessed on 29/10/2026.

According to the World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP, Kew), in the extract read on 21 September 2026, Mentha × piperita L. is a name of rank “Species” with the status “Accepted”, placed in the family Lamiaceae. The ISO catalogue lists a standard, ISO 856:2006, whose title names “Mentha x piperita L.”. Chraibi et al. (2017) give the composition of one oil of Mentha × piperita L. (written “Mentha piperita” in the source), from fresh aerial parts harvested in an institute garden in Taounate, Morocco.

What do the WCVP and IPNI records give for the name?

The WCVP record of Mentha × piperita L. carries the identifier 125188. In the International Plant Names Index (IPNI), in the response read on 21 September 2026 to the search “Mentha piperita”, the name “Mentha piperita”, authors “L.”, rank “spec.”, family “Lamiaceae”, carries the identifier 450969-1 (“urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:450969-1”).

According to Plants of the World Online (POWO, Kew), the native range of this hybrid, Mentha × piperita L., is “Europe to Central Asia”. According to the same POWO record, it is “a perennial” that grows “primarily in the temperate biome”.

Where does the distilled plant material come from?

According to Chraibi et al. (2017), the fresh aerial part of Mentha × piperita L. (written “Mentha piperita” in the source) that they studied was harvested from the “National Institute of the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants garden” in Taounate, Morocco, at 34°32′11″ N, 4°38′24″ W, at an altitude of 600 m.

How is the oil obtained?

According to Chraibi et al. (2017), the fresh aerial parts of “M. piperita” (leaves and stems) were hydrodistilled for 3 h in a Clevenger-type apparatus. According to Chraibi et al. (2017), the essential oil recovered in their study was kept in the dark at 4 °C until further use.

How was the oil analysed?

According to Chraibi et al. (2017), the essential oil was analysed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS), with a PolarisQ ion trap mass spectrometer. According to Chraibi et al. (2017), analyses were performed on a Hewlett-Packard HP 6890 gas chromatograph with a flame ionization detector (FID), with the temperature programmed from 50 °C, after a 5 min initial hold, to 200 °C at 4 °C/min. According to Chraibi et al. (2017), the carrier gas was nitrogen (N2, 1.8 ml/min), in split mode (flow 72.1 ml/min, ratio 1/50); the injector and detector temperatures were 250 °C, and the final hold time was 48 min. According to Chraibi et al. (2017), samples diluted 1/20 in methanol were injected manually, 1 μl at a time.

What is the composition of the oil?

In the oil analysed by Chraibi et al. (2017), twenty-seven constituents were identified, representing 99.51% of the total essential oil of “M. piperita L.”. In the oil analysed by Chraibi et al. (2017), menthol, listed among the major constituents, had a content of 46.32%. In the oil analysed by Chraibi et al. (2017), menthofuran, listed among the major constituents, had a content of 13.18%. In the oil analysed by Chraibi et al. (2017), “menthyl acetate”, listed among the major constituents, had a content of 12.10%. In the oil analysed by Chraibi et al. (2017), menthone, listed among the major constituents, had a content of 7.42%. In the oil analysed by Chraibi et al. (2017), the compound that the results name “1.8-cineole” (and the abstract “1,8-cineole”), listed among the major constituents, had a content of 6.06%.

Which ISO standards does the ISO catalogue list under the number ISO 856?

According to the ISO catalogue for ICS class 71.100.60, the standard ISO 856:2006 is titled “Oil of peppermint (Mentha x piperita L.)”, falls under ISO/TC 54 and is at stage “90.93”. In the same catalogue, the standard ISO 856:1981, titled “Oil of peppermint, France, Italy, United Kingdom and USA”, is marked “Withdrawn”, at stage “95.99”, and falls under ISO/TC 54.

References

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