Molecules (Oct 2023)

Chemical Composition and Anti-<i>Candida</i> Activity of <i>Mentha suaveolens</i> Ehrh. Essential Oils Obtained by Different Distillation Processes

  • Vanja Tadić,
  • Mijat Božović,
  • Filippo Sapienza,
  • Roberta Astolfi,
  • Milan Mladenović,
  • Maria Cristina Zaka,
  • Fabiana Del Bove,
  • Francesca Borzacchi,
  • Caterina Fraschetti,
  • Caterina Rossi,
  • Silvia Vertuani,
  • Anna Baldisserotto,
  • Stefano Manfredini,
  • Rino Ragno

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28196934
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 28, no. 19
p. 6934

Abstract

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A comparative study on essential oils extracted from Mentha suaveolens Ehrh. from Italy is reported. Two extraction procedures were investigated: hydrodistillation and steam distillation, carried out as a continuous and fractionated procedure. Fresh and dried plant material from two harvests was used. The hydrodistillation method yielded a higher amount of essential oil. The dried plant was significantly richer in essential oil per kg of starting plant material. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of 112 samples showed that the essential oils belong to the piperitenone oxide-rich chemotype. In addition, piperitenone, p-cymen-8-ol, and limonene were among the most abundant compounds in the different samples. A higher amount of piperitenone oxide was obtained by hydrodistillation, while steam distillation gave a higher percentage of piperitenone and limonene. The essential oils were characterized for their anti-Candida albicans activity; higher potency was observed for the samples rich in piperitenone oxide, with MIC values ranging from 0.39 to 0.78 mg·mL−1 (0.039% and 0.078% p/v). The results of this work provide a deep insight into the methodology of essential oil extraction and the associated chemical variability of M. suaveolens Ehrh. Some of the essential oils are potent against C. albicans and could be considered for potential use in therapy.

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