Parametric and kinetic modeling, chemical composition, and comparative analyses of Algerian Mentha pulegium L. essential oil extracted from flowers and leaves by hydrodistillation

Mentha pulegium L. is a plant with numerous health benefits that is utilized in traditional Algerian medicine. The objective of the current study was to analyze the chemical compositions of the essential oils produced by the M. pulegium flower and leaf parts after identifying the best hydrodistillation operating parameters and modeling the kinetic extraction. According to parametric tests, first order extraction kinetics result in yields of 1.7±0.06% (w/w) for leaves through 60 minutes and 4.00±0.10% (w/w) for flowers through 30 minutes. Five compounds were found in flowers, whereas 16 compounds were found in leaves. For leaves, a total of 15 constituents accounting for 100% of the oil were found; for flowers, a total of 5 constituents accounting for 100% of the oil were found. Predominance of oxygenated monoterpenes, such as pulegone (53.09%), menthol (12.53%), and neoisopulegol (5.7%) was determined in leaves, respectively pulegone (83.40%), isopulegylacetate (7.98%), and menthol (3.63%) in flowers. The results indicate that the experimental conditions used provided good yields in the extraction of essential oils, particularly from mint blossoms via hydrodistillation. As a result, there are options for lowering the time and energy required for mint oil extraction while still producing a high-quality product.