Volume 5, Issue 8, August – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology ISSN No:-2456-2165 IJISRT20AUG405 www.ijisrt.com 1153 Synthesis of Piperitone Epoxide and P-Menthane-8-Thiol-3-One from Essential Oils Abubakar Sani Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry Umaru Musa Yar’adua University Katsina, Nigeria Muhammad Sulaiman Rahama Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry Umaru Musa Yar’adua University Katsina, Nigeria Abstract:- Buchu (Barosma betulina) is a small flowering plant found in the family Rutaceae in Western Cape of South Africa, Namibia and Australia, capable of growing up to 2 meters with a simple rounded leaf that produced essential oil of strong peppermint and sweetish smell. The Buchu oil as an essential oil consist of many chemical constituents, the main components includes piperitone, pulegone, piperitone epoxide, iso-menthone, P-menthane-8-thiol- 3-one, 4-diosphenol. The piperitone epoxide and P- menthane-8-thiol-3-one constituents in Buchu oil have high commercial values, which extensively used as fragrances in perform, flavor, food additives, tonic and medicinal stimulant in modern medicine in the manufacture of insecticides, antimicrobial, anti- inflammatory and antioxidant in cosmetic products. The extinction threat of the plant and chemistry benefit of these chemical constituents initiate scientist with synthetic route for synthesizing the compounds from Eucalyptus dives oil and pennyroyal oil, which are also an essential oils and abundant in nature. In the synthesis, purified piperitone and pulegone from the Eucalyptus dives oil and pennyroyal oil produced two enatiotiomers of piperitone epoxide and P-menthane-8- thiol-3-one respectively. The analytical analysis such infrared and GC-Mc conducted for the starting materials, synthesis processes and synthesize products showed results of significant value in terms chemical reactions and structural re-arrangement. Keywords:- Buchu (Barosma betulina), Eucalyptus dives oil, pennyroyal oil, piperitone, pulegone, piperitone epoxide, p-menthane-8-thiol-3one, TGA, Infrared spectroscopy, GC-MS. I. INTRODUCTION The term essential oils derived its name as an extract from the characteristics fragrance of the plant from which is obtained. They are complex aromatic, volatile compositions oils of obtained from a plant source or material either by steam or dry distillation, using a suitable heating or mechanical method of extraction and usually carry the odour of their plant [1]. In addition, essential oils being aromatic in nature are basically extracted from aromatic plant sources, mostly biosynthesis by the plant organs as secondary intermediate products. The aromatic plants make only 10% of over 1700 plant species globally and the genres can be traced in a small number of families, which includes Asteraceae, Rutaceae, Piperaceae Lauraceae, Lamiaceae, Myrtaceae, cupressaceae, and Poaceae. The essential oils as a volatile complex mixture of compounds obtained from aromatic plant extracts can be categorised into two distinct groups based on the chemical composition. These includes hydrocarbons compounds which are made up of terpenes (isoprenes), terpernoids that is subdivided into monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, diterpenes and the oxygenated compounds which consist of mainly aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, phenol and oxides [1, 2]. The isoprene unit is also the basic building block of terpenes with general formula of (C5H8)n, where ‘n’ represents the number of attached isoprene units. The linkage system of isoprene units is in head-to-tail arrangement [2]. The essential oils been products of secondary metabolites of aromatic plants are composed of complex mixture of volatile constituents that are used in flavourings, perfumes, insects and animal repellents. They are also used in cosmetics and aromatherapy applications as an anti- inflammatory, anti-septic, anti-viral and anti-bacterial [3]. The essential oils can be served as food supplements for lactating animals as well as food preservatives [4]. These oils are mainly extracted from different plant sources. Buchu oil, an essential oil mainly produced from Buchu plant, consist of many compounds. Buchu plant is extensively used as tonic and medicinal stimulant. Among the main chemical constituents found in the Agathosma betulina specie are limonene, cis mercaptone, trans mercaptone, l-pulegone, piperitone, piperitone epoxide, diosphenol, d-pulegone, 4-diosphenol, iso-menthone and menthone. In the specie of Barosma crenulata, significant amount of l-pulegone, P-menthane-8-thiol-3-one, limonene, cis acetylthiol, trans acetylthiol, cis mercaptone, trans mercaptone, menthone and trace of diosphenol are found. The l-pulegone is exerting toxicity effect, if consumed in large quantities [5]. The essential oil obtained from Eucalyptus dives tree is usually produced by steam distillation, having two chemotype of piperitone and cineole. The piperitone chemotype of Eucalyptus dives (53% composition of piperitone) has a peppermint aroma and flavor and can be used in the production and synthesis of menthol, piperitone, thymol etc. while the cineole chemotype of Eucalyptus dives is uncommon in nature and rich in with cineole about 70-80% composition [6]. The dominant chemical compositions in Eucalyptus dives (E. dives) essential oil are (40.5%) piperitone, (17.4%) phellandrene, (8.5%) para-cymene and (4.7%) terpin-4-ol [7]. The distillate heavy product of the Eucalyptus dives specie found in South Africa contains significant amount