Method of treating mint oils to reduce pulegone and menthofuran contents

摘要

A method of reducing the pulegone and menthofuran contents naturally present in mint oils comprising combining the mint oil with a Lewis acid, allowing the pulegone and menthofuran to react, neutralizing the mixture and separating the reaction products from the mint oil. This method also can be used with flavor oils naturally containing pulegone and no menthofuran, if a reactive diene is present in or added to the flavor oil. A method of preparing oral compositions, including chewing gum, comprising purified mint flavor is also provided. To chewing gum and other oral compositions is added mint flavor whose pulegone and/or menthofuran levels have been reduced by reacting with a Lewis acid, followed by neutralization and distillation.