Isolation, Purification and Characterization of L-Carvone from Mentha longifolia Using Fractional Distillation and Quantified by Gas Chromatography

Menta longifolia is an aromatic herb consists of dried aerial parts of Mentha longifolia belongs to family Lamiaceae. Overground parts of the plant yield 2-4% of an essential oil, of which the chief component appears to be the monoterpene ketone, carvone. Mentha longifolia thus approaches spearmint (Mentha spicata) rather than peppermint (M. piperita) in oil composition. Other major constituents of the essential oil, according to various studies, include piperitenone and its oxide, piperitone and its oxide and pulegone. The present study involves isolation of l-Carvone from Mentha longifolia using fractional distillation as a tool for separation which was quantified using Gas chromatography. Characterization of purified L-Carvone was done using NMR spectroscopy (¹HNMR and ¹³C-NMR). Fractions collected using fractional distillation was evaluated for anti-microbial activity for further studies.