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Pennyroyal

Q: Is Pennyroyal natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: Steam distillation of the flowering herb (Mentha pulegium). Yield is approximately 1-2%. The oil is 60-90% pulegone, with smaller amounts of menthone, isomenthone, and piperitenone. Due to pulegone's toxicity, the oil is subject to regulatory restrictions in most markets..

GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES / fresh · green · earthy

Pennyroyal

Category	GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES
Subcategory	fresh · green · earthy
Origin
Volatility	Top Note
Botanical	Mentha pulegium
Appearance	yellow green clear oily liquid
Odor Strength	Medium
Producing Countries	Morocco, Spain, Turkey
Pyramid	Top

Harsh, medicinal mint. Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) is mint's dangerous cousin — sharper and more camphoraceous than peppermint, with a penetrating, almost toxic freshness driven by the ketone pulegone.

Scent
Terroir & Origins
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Sharply minty, camphoraceous, and medicinal. Harsher and more aggressive than peppermint (menthol-driven) or spearmint (carvone-driven). The pulegone dominance gives it a penetrating, almost solvent-like quality — clean but unforgiving.

Less sweet than any other mint species. The impression is of medicinal mint crossed with camphor — bracing and slightly unpleasant at full strength.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Sharp, harsh, camphoraceous mint — penetrating pulegone intensity

After a few hours

Medicinal mintiness fades to a dry, herbal sharpness

After a few days

Faint, dry, minty-medicinal trace

Terroir & Transformation

Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.

The Full Story

Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) is a species of mint native to Europe, North Africa, and western Asia. Its essential oil is dominated by pulegone (60-90%), a monoterpene ketone that gives it a sharper, more aggressive minty character than peppermint (which is menthol-dominant) or spearmint (which is carvone-dominant).

Pulegone is hepatotoxic in significant doses, making pennyroyal oil a dangerous essential oils. Its use has been heavily restricted — the FDA considers pennyroyal oil unsafe for internal consumption. Despite this, the oil has been used historically as an insect repellent, an abortifacient (extremely dangerous), and in small quantities in perfumery.

In fragrance, pennyroyal provides a harsh, bracing mintiness that is more medicinal and less sweet than conventional mint oils. It has largely been displaced by safer mint alternatives, but it appears occasionally in historical or traditional formulations.

This note in Première Peau. Simili Mirage · Gravitas Capitale. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

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Did You Know?

Did you know?

Pulegone, the primary compound in pennyroyal oil, was named after the plant itself — Mentha pulegium — which in turn takes its species name from the Latin 'pulex' (flea), because the plant was historically burned to repel fleas.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: Steam distillation of the flowering herb (Mentha pulegium). Yield is approximately 1-2%. The oil is 60-90% pulegone, with smaller amounts of menthone, isomenthone, and piperitenone. Due to pulegone's toxicity, the oil is subject to regulatory restrictions in most markets.

↑ See Terroir & Origins for origin-specific methods.

Molecular Formula	N/A — complex essential oil (major component: pulegone C₁₀H₁₆O, ~75–90%)
CAS Number	8013-99-8
Botanical Name	Mentha pulegium
IFRA Status	Restricted. Contains pulegone (hepatotoxic ketone); IFRA limits pulegone concentration. EU Cosmetics Regulation also restricts pulegone.
Synonyms	pennyroyal mint, European pennyroyal
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	Medium
Lasting Power	168 hours at 100%
Appearance	yellow green clear oily liquid
Flash Point	212.00 °F. TCC ( 100.00 °C. )
Specific Gravity	0.93000 to 0.94400 @ 25.00 °C.
Refractive Index	1.48000 to 1.49000 @ 20.00 °C.

In Perfumery

Pennyroyal is rarely used in contemporary use due to toxicity concerns. Where it appears, it functions as a top note providing harsh, medicinal mintiness. Pulegone, its primary molecule, is restricted by IFRA. Safer mint alternatives (peppermint, spearmint, menthol, menthone) have largely displaced it. Historically, it appeared in herbal and medicinal fragrance compositions. Any current use would be at trace levels and with careful safety assessment.