Eden Seeds Catnip

Perennial of mint family to 1.5m, light purple flowers. Good bee plant, loved by cats. Sunny position. Sow spring, autumn.

Approx 550 seeds per pack

More About Catnip

The remarkable effect catnip has on cats is well known thanks to the scores on online videos showing pets enjoying its intoxicating highs.

The substance that triggers this state of feline ecstasy is called nepetalactone, a type of chemical called a terpene. This simple, small molecule is part of an unusual chain of events, not previously seen by chemists.

Catmint produces nepetalactone in microscopic glands on the underside of its leaves. Research also identifies three new enzymes with unusual activity.

Dr Benjamin Lichman, who conducted the work while a post-doc at John Innes Centre and who is now a lecturer at the University of York, says: "We have made significant progress in understanding how catnip makes nepetalactones, the chemicals that sends cats crazy. Catnip is performing unusual and unique chemical processes, and we plan to use these to help us create useful compounds that can be used in treatment of diseases such as cancer. We are also working to understand the evolution of catnip to understand how it came to produce the cat-active chemicals." Professor Sarah O'Connor, project leader at the John Innes Centre, says: "Nepetalactones have potential use in agriculture as they participate in certain plant-insect interactions. In future work we will explore the roles that these compounds have in plants."