Minthostachys mollis

Minthostachys mollis is a medicinal plant restricted to the South American Andes from Peru to Bolivia. It is the most variable and widely distributed species of the genus Minthostachys. Its common name muña comes from Quechua. Other local names include tipo, tipollo, poleo.^[1]

Minthostachys mollis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Lamiaceae
Genus:	Minthostachys
Species:	M. mollis
Binomial name
Minthostachys mollis (Kunth) Griseb.

Medicinal uses

In the indigenous medicine traditions of the Andes, the plant is made into tea and used medicinally as a carminative and aphrodisiac.^{[citation needed]}

Chemical characteristics

The principal components of essential oil are as follows:

• pulegone
• menthone
• menthol
• (−)-β-pinene
• (−)-α-pinene
• limonene
• isomenthone
• piperic acid
• eucalyptol
• carvone

In the flowering tops 19 compounds were identified in the essential oil, predominantly 29% neomenthol, 24% menthone, 20% menthol, and 8% piperitone.^[1]