(R)-(+)-Pulegone is a monoterpene found in essential oils from plants of the Labiatae family. This compound is a major constituent of Agastache formosanum oil. In this study, the effect of (R)-(+)-pulegone on the central nervous system was evaluated. (R)-(+)-Pulegone caused a significant decrease in ambulation and an increase in pentobarbital-induced sleeping time in mice, indicating a central ...

(+)-Pulegone is a central intermediate in the biosynthesis of (-)-menthol, the most significant component of peppermint essential oil. Depending on environmental conditions, this branch point metabolite may be reduced to (-)-menthone en route to menthol, by pulegone reductase (PR), or oxidized to (+)-menthofuran, by menthofuran synthase (MFS). To elucidate regulation of pulegone metabolism, we ...

We investigated the psychostimulant, rewarding, and anxiolytic-like effects of pulegone. Possible interactions between pulegone and menthol concerning their psychostimulant effect were also analyzed. General mouse activity after pulegone treatment, and the interacitons between pulegone and menthol, were determined in the open field. The anxiolytic-like activity, motor coordination and strength ...

We examined the biotransformation of enantiomeric pairs of enones such as pulegone and carvone in recombinant Escherichia coli expressing Nicotiana tabacum pulegone reductase. It was found that recombinant E. coli cells acquired the ability for stereospecific hydrogenation of the exocyclic C=C double bond of pulegone. However, stereospecificity in hydrogenation with the recombinant E. coli cell...

Essential oils from mint plants, including peppermint and pennyroyal oils, are used at low levels as flavoring agents in various foods and beverages. Pulegone is a component of these oils. In a 2-year bioassay, oral administration of pulegone slightly increased the urothelial tumor incidence in female rats. We hypothesized that its mode of action (MOA) involved urothelial cytotoxicity and incre...

We evaluated the acute toxicities and the physiological effects of plant monoterpenoids (eugenol, pulegone, citronellal and alpha-terpineol) and neuroactive insecticides (malathion, dieldrin and RH3421) on flight muscle impulses (FMI) and wing beat signals (WBS) of the blow fly (Phaenicia sericata). Topically-applied eugenol, pulegone, citronellal, and alpha-terpineol produced neurotoxic sympto...

Axenic shoot culture of Mentha arvensis was established from young shoots of plants cultivated in a field. In the shoots cultured on Murashige-Skoog solid and liquid media for 3-4 weeks, pulegone was the main constituent in both cases, and the content of pulegone in liquid medium was much more than that on solid medium. The shoots cultured in the dark for 3 weeks produced only pulegone. However...

(R)-(+)-Pulegone, a monoterpene constituent of pennyroyal oil, is a hepatotoxin that has been used in folklore medicine as an abortifacient despite its potential lethal effects. Pulegone is metabolized by human liver cytochrome P-450s to menthofuran, a proximate hepatotoxic metabolite of pulegone. Expressed human liver cytochrome (CYP) P-450s (1A2, 2A6, 2C9, 2C19, 2D6, 2E1, and 3A4) were tested...