Nepetalactone is made up of two connected rings of mostly carbons.

荆芥内酯由两个碳原子相连的环组成。

It's called nepetalactone, and it has the unique ability to mimic a cat pheromone.

它被称为荆芥内酯，具有信息素的独特能力。

And catnip triggers the same endorphin rush with a similar chemical called nepetalactone.

而薄荷内含一种结构相近的物质荆芥内酯，也能促使咪分泌大量内啡肽，产生相同效果。

Beth had old–fashioned fragrant flowers in her garden, sweet peas and mignonette, larkspur, pinks, pansies, and southernwood, with chickweed for the birds and catnip for the pussies.

贝思在她的园地里种的是传统的香——香豌豆和木犀草、飞燕草、石竹、三色紫罗兰和青蒿，还有为鸟儿种的繁缕和为种的假荆芥。

One of its volatile oils called Nepetalactone enters the cats' nasal tissue and acts like an artificial cat pheromone.

其中一种叫做荆芥内酯的挥发油进入的鼻组织，就像人造的荷尔蒙。

Catnip, AKA Nepeta Cataria, is a plant that's a member of the mint family.

薄荷，又称假荆芥，是一种薄荷家族的植物。

If all these different cat species reacted to nepetolactol in the same way, the response was very likely a shared evolutionary trait.

倘若这么多种不同的科动物都会对荆芥醇产生一致反应，那么该行为极有可能是科动物共同演化形成的本能特征。

And sure enough, the cats that had been treated with nepetalactol got fewer mosquito bites than the cats in the control group.

结果显而易见，体表沾染过荆芥醇的咪，被蚊子叮咬的次数远少于对照组的咪。

When cats react to catnip, they're really reacting to an organic molecule released by the plant known as nepetalactone.

当对薄荷起反应时，实际上是在与植物荆芥内酯释放的有机分子起反应。

In chemical terms, both nepetalactol and nepetalactone are classified as an iridoid, a type of natural compound known to contain insect-repelling properties.

从化学分类来看，荆芥醇与荆芥内酯都属于环烯醚萜类物质，这类天然化合物本身就具备驱虫功效。

To investigate rubbing, they provided cats with filter papers treated with microscopic amounts of nepetalactol.

为研究“蹭蹭”这个动作的作用，研究人员给咪准备了只沾染微量荆芥醇的滤纸。

So what's going on? Well researchers think nepetalactone is similar to a cat's natural pheromones, the molecules it uses to communicate.

发生什么了？ 嗯，研究人员认为荆芥内酯类似于的天然信息素， 即用来交流的分子。