Dmo-Peppermint Oil
DMO peppermint oil, sold in the trade as dementholised mint oil or dementholised peppermint oil, is the liquid fraction remaining after natural menthol crystals have been removed from the crude essential oil of Mentha arvensis, the cornmint. Crude arvensis oil is too rich in menthol to stay liquid at ambient temperature, and freezing it out yields menthol crystals as the primary product and this oil as the co product.
The residual oil still carries 30 to 55 percent free menthol, together with menthone, isomenthone, neomenthol, menthyl acetate, limonene and pulegone. Functionally it delivers a full cooling mint character at a fraction of the cost of the true peppermint oil of Mentha piperita, though its profile is sharper and less sweet, with a stronger camphoraceous edge and less of the fruity top that piperita carries.
The oil is a clear, colourless to pale yellow mobile liquid with a strong penetrating minty odour. It is lighter than water, soluble in ethanol from about 70 percent upward and in fixed oils, and essentially insoluble in water. It remains liquid in normal storage because the menthol crystallisation step has removed the excess that would otherwise set. Prolonged exposure to air and light oxidises the menthone fraction and dulls the top note, so drums are kept full, cool and nitrogen blanketed.
We source bulk Dmo-Peppermint Oil from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturers are in Anhui and Guangdong. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
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- Function
- Essential oil
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Clear mobile liquid, free from sediment |
| Colour | Colourless to pale yellow |
| Odour | Strong characteristic mint, cooling |
| Free menthol content | Not less than 38.0 percent |
| Total menthol as esters and free | Not less than 42.0 percent |
| Menthone | 15.0 to 32.0 percent |
| Ester value as menthyl acetate | 2.0 to 8.0 percent |
| Specific gravity at 25 degrees Celsius | 0.888 to 0.910 |
| Refractive index at 20 degrees Celsius | 1.4570 to 1.4680 |
| Optical rotation at 20 degrees Celsius | minus 17 to minus 32 degrees |
| Solubility in 70 percent ethanol | Soluble in 3.5 volumes |
| Heavy metals as Pb | Not more than 10 mg/kg |
| Lead | Not more than 2 mg/kg |
| Non volatile residue | Not more than 1.0 percent |
Common Markets Grades
Dementholised mint oil is graded chiefly on residual free menthol, and grades at 30, 38, 45 and 50 percent minimum menthol are the usual points on the scale. The 38 percent grade is the general purpose trading standard and is the one most commonly quoted against pharmacopoeial and ISO requirements. Higher menthol grades are produced by returning part of the crystallised menthol to the oil or by taking a less complete freeze.
The oil is offered both with and without terpenes. Terpeneless and partially terpeneless qualities are made by vacuum fractionation to strip limonene and the other monoterpenes, which raises the cooling strength per unit dose, improves solubility in dilute alcohol and lengthens shelf life. Pharmaceutical grade conforming to European and British pharmacopoeial requirements is stocked alongside general flavour and fragrance grade, and pulegone reduced qualities are produced for markets that limit that constituent. The oil is also sold redistilled for colour, and as dilutions in propylene glycol or ethanol for direct flavour compounding.
Applications
- Chewing gum and bubble gum flavours, the single largest outlet, where it supplies both cooling and mint character
- Hard boiled and pressed mint confectionery, where its sharper profile suits strong mint rather than delicate peppermint styles
- Toothpaste and mouthwash flavours, usually blended with spearmint and cooling agents
- Menthol cigarettes and other tobacco applications as a casing and filter additive
- Topical analgesic balms, gels and inhalant rubs, where the residual menthol carries the counterirritant effect
- Cough drops, lozenges and throat sprays as the mint carrier of the medicated flavour
- Mint flavoured beverages, syrups and cordials at low dosage
- Household and industrial cleaning products for a fresh mint fragrance
- Feedstock for further fractionation into terpeneless mint oil, menthone and additional menthol
China Manufacturers of Dmo-Peppermint Oil
Top Dmo-Peppermint Oil manufacturers in China.
Anhui Province Yifan Spice Co., Ltd.6 ingredients in the directory- GuangDong Juhui Flavors And Fragrances Co., Ltd.4 ingredients in the directory
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
In the United States, 21 CFR 182.20 covers mint oils and their dementholised fractions in its generally recognised as safe listing of essential oils, oleoresins and natural extractives, and lists menthol itself separately as a GRAS synthetic flavouring substance. Cornmint oil and dementholised cornmint oil carry Flavour and Extract Manufacturers Association GRAS status for flavour use, and menthol is additionally recognised in over the counter monographs for topical analgesic and antitussive use.
In the European Union the oil is a natural flavouring preparation obtained from a food source, and Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 permits it without individual authorisation, subject to the general safety conditions and to the maximum levels that Regulation sets for pulegone and menthofuran in flavoured foods and beverages, which is why pulegone controlled grades are traded. Pharmacopoeial grades are the subject of a European Pharmacopoeia monograph for dementholised mint oil. The Joint FAO WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives has evaluated menthol and related menthane derivatives as flavouring agents and raised no safety concern at flavour use levels.
Manufacturing Process
Cornmint herb is harvested at flowering, wilted in the field to reduce water load, and steam distilled in batch stills to give crude Mentha arvensis oil containing roughly 70 to 80 percent menthol. That crude oil is charged into jacketed crystallisers and chilled progressively to around minus 20 degrees Celsius, held to allow the menthol to nucleate and grow, and then discharged to a basket centrifuge or filter press where the crystal mass is separated from the mother liquor.
The crystals go forward as natural menthol. The mother liquor is the dementholised oil. It is warmed, allowed to settle, and dried to remove entrained water, then normally rectified by fractional distillation under vacuum to lift colour, adjust the menthol level to the grade being made and, where a terpeneless quality is required, to strip the monoterpene head fraction. The rectified oil is polish filtered, standardised by gas chromatography against the target menthol figure, and filled under nitrogen into lined mild steel or aluminium drums.
