Menthol in Drug Discovery: A Natural Compound with Modern Applications

Abstract: Natural products have been used by humans since ancient times, with the main goal of alleviating and treating diseases serving as the initial reason for their use in medicine. At present, with conventional drug development facing substantial obstacles, natural compounds serve as an essential source of inspiration and a promising reservoir for drug discovery. Their structurally complex and chemically diverse architecture provides a versatile foundation for the modulation of various biological targets. Among the wide range of natural products, species of the genus Mentha stand out for their chemical diversity and biological relevance. These species, commonly known as peppermint, are a medicinal plant with well-documented biological activities, including refreshing and antiseptic properties. Its major constituents are menthol and menthone. Menthol is a cyclic monoterpene alcohol, and menthone is the ketone analog of menthol. Menthone possesses a mintlike aroma comparable to menthol and is naturally present in peppermint oil. Given the importance of these compounds, this article aims to provide a literature review of selected biological activities related to menthol, menthone, and their derivatives. An extensive search was conducted across major scientific databases over the past ten years to demonstrate how nature-derived products may serve as a promising and effective alternative for developing new pharmaceuticals. In this article, several biological activities such as anticancer, antimicrobial, antifungal, and antiviral were highlighted, with emphasis on the derivatives of these natural products that demonstrated greater efficacy, showing the importance and relevance of these compounds in drug discovery.