<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Mentha × piperita (L.) Huds. of the family Lamiaceae is a very important species for commercial exploitation due to the high
content of essential oil. Besides the essential oils, there are also other significant secondary metabolites in peppermint, especially
flavonoids and hydroxycinnamic derivatives. In this study, we evaluate the variability of essential oil constituents and of phenolic
compounds in the leaves of M. × piperita during the development of inflorescence. Similar studies, dealing with the variation of the
essential oils and its composition, have been performed in the past, but no attention was paid to the variation of other secondary
metabolites. We examined M. × piperita cv. ‘Perpeta’, the domestic cultivar. The plants were cultivated in the climatic conditions
of south-west Slovakia. The contents of secondary metabolites were investigated in the week periods, from the beginning of
inflorescence formation to the end of flowering. The yield and the quality of essential oil have been carried out by distillation and
gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The phenolic substances were analysed using spectrophotometric methods
according to European Pharmacopoeia. The highest contents of phenolic substances have been found in leaves of plants during
the flowering phenophase, the same stage when essential oil of mint also achieves the highest quality.</p></abstract>

Mentha × piperita (L.) Huds. of the family Lamiaceae is a very important species for commercial exploitation due to the high
content of essential oil. Besides the essential oils, there are also other significant secondary metabolites in peppermint, especially
flavonoids and hydroxycinnamic derivatives. In this study, we evaluate the variability of essential oil constituents and of phenolic
compounds in the leaves of M. × piperita during the development of inflorescence. Similar studies, dealing with the variation of the
essential oils and its composition, have been performed in the past, but no attention was paid to the variation of other secondary
metabolites. We examined M. × piperita cv. ‘Perpeta’, the domestic cultivar. The plants were cultivated in the climatic conditions
of south-west Slovakia. The contents of secondary metabolites were investigated in the week periods, from the beginning of
inflorescence formation to the end of flowering. The yield and the quality of essential oil have been carried out by distillation and
gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The phenolic substances were analysed using spectrophotometric methods
according to European Pharmacopoeia. The highest contents of phenolic substances have been found in leaves of plants during
the flowering phenophase, the same stage when essential oil of mint also achieves the highest quality.

The variability of secondary metabolites in mentha × piperita
cv . ‘perpeta’ during the development of inflorescence

Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Pharmacy, Departments of
Pharmacognosy and Botany, Slovakia

University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Faculty of
Pharmacy, Department of Natural Drugs, Czech Republic

European Pharmaceutical Journal

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Mentha × piperita (L.) Huds. of the family Lamiaceae is a very important species for commercial exploitation due to the high
content of essential oil. Besides...

The variability of secondary metabolites in mentha × piperita cv . ‘perpeta’ during the development of inflorescence

Published Online: Dec 30, 2014

Page range: 21 - 25

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/afpuc-2014-0012

Keywords
Mentha × piperita, flavonoids, flowering stage, THD, polyphenols, essential oil

© Acta Facultatis Pharmaceuticae Universitatis Comenianae

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The variability of secondary metabolites in mentha × piperita cv . ‘perpeta’ during the development of inflorescence

Published Online: Dec 30, 2014

Page range: 21 - 25

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/afpuc-2014-0012

KeywordsMentha × piperita, flavonoids, flowering stage, THD, polyphenols, essential oil

© Acta Facultatis Pharmaceuticae Universitatis Comenianae

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Mentha × piperita, flavonoids, flowering stage, THD, polyphenols, essential oil