The D-form has a peppermint-like aroma and has been isolated from the oils of plants from the genera Cymbopogon, Andropogon, and Mentha.

[1] Piperitone is found in many essential oils, including over thirty species of the genus eucalyptus.

[5] Piperitone is used as the principal raw material for the production of synthetic menthol and thymol.

It also forms adducts with benzaldehyde and hydroxylamine (an oxime), which were historically useful for compound identification by the melting points of the derivatives.

[3] Under light exposure, piperitone undergoes photodimerization, forming a polycyclic compound with a cyclobutane ring.