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Planta Med 2009; 75 - P-54
DOI: 10.1055/s-2009-1216492

Productivity and Biochemical Composition of Peppermint Cultivars

H Al-Amier 1, 2, JP Baek 1, AA El-Hela 3, A Helaly 2, LE Craker 1
  • 1Plant, Soil, and Insect Sciences Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
  • 2Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
  • 3Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

Peppermint (Mentha x piperita L., Lamiaceae) is widely cultivated for the essential oil used worldwide in the confectionary and pharmaceutical industries. To determine oil characteristics of peppermint plants suitable for cultivation in salt-stress conditions of Egypt, 57 peppermint cultivars, obtained from National Clonal Germplasm Repository, Corvallis, Oregon were grown in a greenhouse at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst during 2007 and 2008 to determine growth characteristics and oil production. The essential oil was extracted from fresh aerial parts of each cultivar using steam distillation for 3 h to extract a pale, yellow colored, aromatic oil. The oils were analyzed by gas chromatography (FID, Cupelcowax 10 capillary colum, 30 m × 0.25 mm film). Constituents were identified by co-chromatography with known standards. A high degree of variability among the cultivars for fresh weight and total essential oil was observed with the highest fresh weight per plant was obtained from cultivars labeled PM09 (144.5 g plant−1) and PM01 (138.0 g plant−1). The highest essential oil content was obtained from cultivars labeled MP07 (733.3 µL plant−1) and MP52 (520.0 µL plant−1). Menthone, menthol, and pulgone were the major constituents in all tested oils. The highest menthol content was measured in the oils from cultivars MP12 (85.93%) and MP56 (53.76%).