| Japanese mint oil |
| Introduction |
| The full botanical name of Japanese mint is Mentha arvensis L.,subsp.
Hapolocalyx Briquet, var. piperascens Holmes, or forma piperascens Malinvaud.
This name should always he use when referring to the plant as growing or being cultivated in Japan, because menthaarvensis L., "Cornmint," is grown in the Northerm Hemisphere. The oil of other species and varieties occurring in Japan do not contain sufficient menthol to warrant commercial interest.. The Japanese Department of Agriculture warns the growers against cross-hybridization with local wild varieties and advises them to improve their mint growing by a number of measures. There exist several forms of "Aka Maru" is distinguished by a reddish violet stem. The other type called "Ryokubi" which has green stem and gives the best yield of oil with the highest menthol content.
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| Distillation |
| For distillation, the herbs are packed firmly in the tub. When the steam, which may come directly from the unit or from a steam generator, passes through the herbs, the oil will evaporate and pass through the pipe along with the steam to the condenser whereby both oil and water vapours are condensed and come cut of the condenser to the oil separator. Since oil is lighter then water, it will accumulate on the top layer while water, together with a very small amount of oil, passes through the chamber of the oil separator and finally out of the separator. The oil, therefore, remains in the oil separator automatically. |
| Many types of mint distillation units were invented both for laboratory and field investigation and for commercial production. In principle, they are similar. Modification is observed in the size of the tub and condenser and the source of steam (either direct heat or from a boiler). Two major types are popular, namely, the oval-shaped tub, 500 kg capacity and 200 L oil drum. Both are the direct heat type. Many companies are producing both types for sale to the mint oil factories. |
| The yield of mint oil varies depending the growth of the plant, age, season and time at harvest, the amount of water within the plant at the time of distillation, and the efficiency of the unit. On a half-dry basis, a value between 0.5-0.8% is normally obtained. The yield of fresh material is averaged at 6,000 kg per hectare per cutting. After being half-dried, the weight is reduced by one third to 4,000 kg. Thus, from 20 to 32 kg of oil are expected. |
| MentholThai Co.,Ltd. |
| Import Export co.,Ltd has established since 1973. Menthol Thai Import Export is a name completely committed |
| to excellence in manufacturing, trading chemical products such as mint products, menthol crystal,peppermint oil, |
| eucalyptus oil and other essential and aromatic chemicals. |
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