Phytochemical comparison with quantitative analysis between two flower phenotypes of <em>Mentha aquatica</em> L.: pink-violet and white

Abstract

In this work, the first phytochemical comparison performed on the polar fractions of two different phenotypes of Mentha aquatica L. having pink-violet and white flowers, is reported. This comparison was conducted through both a classical phytochemical analysis and a metabolomic one by means of spectroscopic and spectrometric approaches. Twenty-seven compounds were identified in both phenotypes. Most of them were evidenced in both. Anyway, all these compounds possess chemotaxonomic, pharmacological and nutritional value. In particular, one compound represents a new phytochemical for the species and two other compounds are new phytochemicals for the genus, instead. The results obtained allowed us to ascertain, from a phytochemical standpoint, that also this species can be used as possible medicinal plant like all the other species of this genus and as a source of important nutritional factors due to the presence of compounds with high nutritional properties.

Keywords

• <em>Mentha aquatica</em> L.
• pink-violet flowers
• white flowers
• phytochemical analysis
• phytochemical comparison
• quantitative analysis