Abstract
In this study, the hydrodistilled essential oil from aerial parts of Mentha pulegium L. was investigated for the antioxidant activity and identification of active constituents. The chemical composition of the oil was analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. The antioxidant activity of the oil was evaluated by the DPPH assay. The most active constituents of the essential oil were detected by the DPPH-bioautography method and identified by GC analysis. 18 constituents were identified in the oil of M. pulegium and pulegone (48.7 %) and menthone (26.8 %) were found to be the main constituents. The DPPH assay showed an IC50 value of 1.61 (1.41–1.84) mg/mL. The DPPH-bioautography guided fractionation of the essential oil followed by GC analysis of the most active fraction was resulted in the identification of menthone and pulegone as the main active constituents.