Nepetalactol is an

iridoid Iridoids are a type of monoterpenoids in the general form of cyclopentanopyran, found in a wide variety of plants and some animals. They are biosynthetically derived from 8-oxogeranial. Iridoids are typically found in plants as glycosides, mos ...

. It is produced from 8-oxogeranial by the enzyme

iridoid synthase Iridoids are a type of monoterpenoids in the general form of cyclopentanopyran, found in a wide variety of plants and some animals. They are biosynthesis, biosynthetically derived from 8-oxogeranial. Iridoids are typically found in plants as gly ...

. Nepetalactol is a substrate for the enzyme iridoid oxidase (IO) which produces 7-deoxyloganetic acid. It has been identified in ''

Actinidia polygama ''Actinidia polygama'' (also known as , silver vine, , and cat powder) is a species of kiwifruit in the Actinidiaceae family. It grows in the mountainous areas of Korea, Japan and China at elevations between . Silver vine can reach up to high ...

'' (the silver vine) as a major cat attractant, and a mosquito repellent. The fact that mosquitos bite cats with nepetalactol on their fur less often may explain why cats are attracted to silver vine in the first place.

References

{{Reflist Iridoids Cyclopentanes