Antimicrobial mints

Menthol is a well-known terpenoid from the essential oil of mint Mentha spp.) (15), and is described here as a representative of the different acyclic and cyclic plant monoterpenoids. Because of its pleasant odor, taste, and anesthetic and antimicrobial effects, (-)-menthol is an industrially important terpenoid and is produced commercially in large scale both from the essential oils of Mentha spp. and by asymmetric synthesis. The essential oil is produced in glandular trichomes, which are secretory cells that number in the thousands on Mentha leaves. The presence of these specialized cells, which easily can be separated physically from other cell types, has greatly facilitated studying (-)-menthol biosynthesis. 

Kasrati, A., Alaoui Jamal, C., Bekkouche, K., Lahcen, H., Markouk, M., Wohlmuth, H. et al. (2013). Essential oil composition and antimicrobial activity of wild cultivated mint timlja (Mantha suaveolens subsp. timija (Briq.) Harley), an endemic and threatened medicinal species in Morocco. NM Prod R. 27(12), 1119-1122. 

Volatile oils obtained from peppermint, corn-mint, and other mint species have antimicrobial, antimalarial and antigiradial activities in vitro. Peppermint extracts have been reported to have antiviral activities against Newcastle disease, herpes simplex, vaccinia, Sem-liki Forest, and West Nile viruses in egg and cell culture systems (see babn) The ethyl acetate extract of Moroccan M. longifolia was also found to possess inhibitory activity against HIV-1 reverse transcriptase. ... 

---