Effect of Different Postharvest Methods on Essential Oil Content and Composition of Three <i>Mentha</i> Genotypes
Charlotte Hubert,
Saskia Tsiaparas,
Liane Kahlert,
Katharina Luhmer,
Marcel Dieter Moll,
Maike Passon,
Matthias Wüst,
Andreas Schieber,
Ralf Pude
Affiliations
Charlotte Hubert
Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation—Renewable Resources, Agricultural Faculty, University of Bonn, Klein-Altendorf 2, D-53359 Rheinbach, Germany
Saskia Tsiaparas
Institute of Nutritional and Food Sciences, Food Chemistry, Agricultural Faculty, University of Bonn, Friedrich-Hirzebruch-Allee 7, D-53115 Bonn, Germany
Liane Kahlert
Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation—Renewable Resources, Agricultural Faculty, University of Bonn, Klein-Altendorf 2, D-53359 Rheinbach, Germany
Katharina Luhmer
Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation—Renewable Resources, Agricultural Faculty, University of Bonn, Klein-Altendorf 2, D-53359 Rheinbach, Germany
Marcel Dieter Moll
Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation—Renewable Resources, Agricultural Faculty, University of Bonn, Klein-Altendorf 2, D-53359 Rheinbach, Germany
Maike Passon
Institute of Nutritional and Food Sciences, Food Chemistry, Agricultural Faculty, University of Bonn, Friedrich-Hirzebruch-Allee 7, D-53115 Bonn, Germany
Matthias Wüst
Institute of Nutritional and Food Sciences, Food Chemistry, Agricultural Faculty, University of Bonn, Friedrich-Hirzebruch-Allee 7, D-53115 Bonn, Germany
Andreas Schieber
Institute of Nutritional and Food Sciences, Molecular Food Technology, Agricultural Faculty, University of Bonn, Friedrich-Hirzebruch-Allee 7, D-53115 Bonn, Germany
Ralf Pude
Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation—Renewable Resources, Agricultural Faculty, University of Bonn, Klein-Altendorf 2, D-53359 Rheinbach, Germany
Mentha sp. is commonly used for essential oil (EO) extraction and incorporated in multiple products of food and pharmaceutical industries. Postharvest management is a key factor in line of production to preserve quality-determining plant ingredients. This study focused on the effects of two different postharvest processes on EO content and the composition of three different Mentha genotypes (Mentha × piperita ‘Multimentha’, Mentha × piperita ‘Fränkische Blaue’ and Mentha rotundifolia ‘Apfelminze’). They were cultivated under greenhouse conditions. One postharvest treatment consisted of drying Mentha as whole plant after harvesting and later separating leaves from stems. In the second treatment, leaves were separated from stems directly after harvesting and then dried. EO content was determined by steam distillation and composition of EO was characterized by GC/MS analysis. Key findings of the study are that the postharvest processing treatments had no significant influence on the content or composition of the EO. Only the genotype ‘Fränkische Blaue’ showed a significantly higher EO content in the dry separated treatment at the third harvest (2.9 ± 0.15 mL/100 g DM (sD)) than separated fresh (2.4 ± 0.24 mL/100 g DM (sF)). However, genotype selection and harvest time had a clear impact on EO content and composition.
