Comparison of physicochemical properties of peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) distillate obtained from dry and fresh plant in vegetative and flowering stages and in different distillate to water ratios

Document Type : Full Paper

Authors

1 Department of Horticultural Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Medicinal Plants, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran

3 Department of Horticultural Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

4 4. Department of Rangelands, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of harvesting time including vegetative and flowering stages and four different ratio of volumes of distillate to 1 kg of fresh plant (2, 4, 6, and 8 L per 1 kg fresh plant) on physiochemical characters and essential oils of the peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) distillate. In addition, comparisons were made between distillate resulted from dried (drying in shade, sunlight+shade, and sunlight) and fresh peppermint samples. Distillation was performed using the water distillation method. Standard protocols were used to investigate the physiochemical properties of distillate. Analyses of the essential oils were done using Gas Chromatography (GC) and GC-Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). Two-way analyses of variances showed significant effects of the harvest time and distillate volume on ester number, oxidation number, iodine number, and essential oils quantity of the distillate. The highest amount of ester no. (10.8 ± 0.02) and oxidation no. (165.33 ± 70.46) was quantified in the vegetative stage and 1:4 L of distillate. Total amount of essential oils in the flowering (37.83% ± 5.9) were higher than the vegetative (28.25 ± 8.73) stages. In addition, distillates volumes of 2:1 (35.50 ± 3.56%) and 4:1 (40.33 ± 5.53%) had higher essential oils than the other distillate volumes. Drying methods had significant effects on all physicochemical properties of distillates. Menthol (33.9-40.6 %) and menthone (11.3-34.9 %) were the highest components of the oils within the distillates. The results indicated that the peppermint distillate may have higher quality when the plants harvested at flowering stage, dried at sunlight+shade, and distillate taken at 2 and/or 4 L to 1 kg plant.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Extended Abstract

Introduction

Standardization of the protocols for distillation process plays an important role to improve the quality of plant distilled water. Peppermint (Mentha piperita L.), which is a hybrid between spearmint (M. spicata) and water mint (M. aquatica) belongs to the Lamiaceae family. It is a common herb with various domestic and industrial applications. In fact, peppermint is widely used in the food, pharmaceutical, perfumery and flavoring industries. The main constituent of the peppermint essential oil is menthol which is the major factor of its taste and smell. Peppermint oils have been dominantly applied in manufacture of toothpaste and flavored drinks. However, the quality and quantity of distillate and essential oils of mint can be variable, depend on the distillation process.

 

Materials and Methods

In the present study, two main experiments were carried out to standardize the physicochemical parameters of mint distillate with proper amount of qualified oils. In the first experiments, peppermint was harvested at two different stages of growth (vegetative and full flowering), and subjected to water distillation, mint distillate were obtained in four volumes (2, 4, 6 and 8, which were the ratio of the distillate volume to a certain amount of fresh plant, 1000 g) and examined for their physicochemical properties. On the second experiment, plants were harvested at two harvesting time (vegetative and flowering stage) and three drying methods, consisting of drying in shade sunlight+shade, and sunlight were applied to assess the distillate physicochemical indices and quantity and quality of the essential oils. The studied l parameters were acidity no., pH, relative density, ester no., oxidation no., and iodine no values. Also in the second experiment, Gas Chromatography (GC) and GC-Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis were used to identify and quantify the essential oils compositions. Two-way analyses of variance were applied to evaluate quality of peppermint distillate and Duncan’s multiple range tests were used to compare the characters means.

 

Results and Discussion

The results showed that harvesting time, distillate volume, and their interaction effect significantly affected the ester no., oxidation no., iodine no., and essential oil content of the peppermint distillates. Distillate derived from plants harvested at vegetative stage in a volume of 4 showed higher ester (10.8 ± 0.02) and oxidation (165.33 ± 70.46) numbers than the plants derived at flowering stage. However, total amount of essential oils was greater in the plants of flowering (37.83 ± 5.9 mg/100 ml) than the vegetative (28.25 ± 8.73 mg/100 ml) stages. Also, distillates in volumes 2:1 (35.50 ± 3.56 mg/100 ml) and 4:1 (40.33 ± 5.53 mg/100 ml) had higher essential oils than the other distillate volumes. The results also showed that in the both harvesting stages, drying in the shade is associated with a significant increase in essential oil and a decrease in ester and iodine number. Drying under sunlight led to higher pH, ester number and iodine number of the distillates. The highest values of oxidation no. and essential oil content were observed in distillates obtained from plants were harvested at flowering stage and shade-dried. Also, drying the samples under the sun and then in the shade caused an increase in the amount of essential oils compared to drying under the sunlight alone. GC/MS analyses showed different constituents in the essential oils of plants under treatments, major components were menthol (33.9-40.6 %) and menthone (11.3-34.9 %).

 

Conclusion

According to the present study harvesting peppermint at the flowering stage can result in greater essential oils content and higher amounts of menthol and menthone compared to the vegetative stage. Furthermore, the physicochemical indices and oil content of the two and four volumes of distillates were higher than those of the other examined volumes. We also found that harvesting at flowering stage and drying under sunlight+shade condition can lead to higher quality of distillate. Additional research is needed to investigate the effects of other distillation methods on the essential oils characteristics of peppermint.

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Iranian Journal of Horticultural Science
Volume 55, Issue 2
August 2024
Pages 331-347

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History

  • Receive Date: 28 January 2024
  • Revise Date: 26 March 2024
  • Accept Date: 09 April 2024

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