abstract the essential oil of mentha pulegium l., lamiaceae was obtained by steam distillation of the herb, collected during the period of full flowering, when 0.2% was gained. the analysis of its chemical composition was performed using gc and gc/ms. twenty-two components (89.9% of the total oil) were identified. the principal one was menthone (30.9%), while the other important were pulegone (14.1%) and neomenthol (13.8%) and caryophyllene oxide (9.0%).