Isomenthone

Isomenthone is an organic compound present in the essential oils of Bergamot, Corn mint, Geranium, Lemongrass, Mangrove bark, Peppermint, Agathosma crenulata, Pennyroyal and Petitgrain.

The chemical formula for isomenthone is C10H18O. It is also known by the other names such as L-Isomenthone, cis-Menthone, (-)-Isomenthone, (1) – Isomenthone and so on.

Attributes of Isomenthone:

Isomenthone is a colorless liquid, which is clear in nature. It has a cool and mentholic minty aroma.

Therapeutic attributes of Isomenthone:

The major remedial values of Isomenthone are:

Antioxidant activity:

According to the study ‘Antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of three Mentha species essential oils’, it was found that menthone and Isomenthone present in Mentha longifolis L. and Mentha piperita potentially exhibit free radical scavenging activity.

In another study ‘In-vitro Antioxidant Activity and GC/MS Studies on the Leaves of Mentha piperita (Lamiaceae) from Morocco’, it was brought into light that Isomenthone present in the essential oil of Mentha piperita exhibit potential free radical scavenging activity and it is one of the constituents that contribute to the antioxidant activity of the oil.

In the book, “Herbs and Natural Supplements, Volume 2, An evidence-Based Guide” it is mentioned that Peppermint and its constituents, Menthone and Isomenthone exhibit antioxidant activity.

Antiviral effect:

Isomenthone possess antiviral effect against Herpes Simplex type-1(HSV-1), which is evident from the study ‘Antimicrobial and antiviral effects of essential oils from selected Umbelliferae and Labiatae plants and individual essential oil components’.

This study is focused on the antibacterial and antiviral activity exhibited by the essential oils from selected plants of Umbelliferae and Labiatae family and their constituents.

Isomenthone was one of the constituents present in the essential oils of the plants under study and it was tested for its antiviral effect against Herpes Simplex type-1 virus. It was found that Isomenthone exhibited antiviral activity against Herpes simplex type-1 virus with the values of cytopathogenic effect ranging between .8 and 0.025 μg mL-1.

Protection of human dermal fibroblasts:

Dermal fibroblasts are the cells present in the dermis layer of the skin and its function is to generate connective tissue and aid in fast recovery of the skin during injury. A study titled ‘Isomenthone protects human dermal fibroblasts from TNF-α-induced death possibly by preventing activation of JNK and p38 MAPK’ was carried out to evaluate the protective effects of Isomenthone against tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and its role in human dermal fibroblasts.

It was found that Isomenthone protects dermal fibroblasts by suppressing the TNF-α mediated reduction in cell viability and reduced the increase in apoptosis and also hindered JNK and p38 MAPK pathways.

Reference Links:

  1. Isomenthone by PubChem
  2. Antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of three Mentha species essential oils
  3. In-vitro Antioxidant Activity and GC/MSStudies on the Leaves of Mentha piperita (Lamiaceae) from Morocco
  4. Antimicrobial and antiviral effects of essential oils from selected Umbelliferae and Labiatae plants and individual essential oil components
  5. Isomenthone protects human dermal fibroblasts from TNF-α-induced death possibly by preventing activation of JNK and p38 MAPK