Essential Oil Composition and Phytochemical Properties from Leaves of Felty Germander (Teucrium polium L.) and Spearmint (Mentha spicata L.)

Abstract

Identification of phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity, and their potential applications in pharmaceutical and medical aspects has received much attention due to their benefits for human health. Teucrium polium has been utilized for treating gastrointestinal disorders, inflammation, rheumatism, and diabetes, and Mentha spicata is widely utilized in traditional medicine and folk remedies. In this research, hydro-distillation was used to obtain the essential oil of air-dried samples, and gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry (GC/MS) were used for analysis. Totally 64 and 53 constituents were identified and quantified in the felty germander and spearmint essential oils samples respectively. The main components of T. polium’s essential oils were α-pinene (6/97 %), β-pinene (12/97 %), myrcene (2.19 %), limonene (3.45 %), cis-verbenol (2.11 %), carvone (3.85 %),(E)-caryophyllene (4.71 %), (E)-β-farnesene (2.23 %), dehydro-sesquicineole (2.86 %), valerianol (21.44 %) and epi-α-bisabolol (9.86 %). On the other hand, in M. spicata, the percentage of total monoterpenoid fraction constitutes 96.74 % of the oil with the main components: limonene (7.33 %), germacrene D (6.26 %), carvone (49.91 %), piperitenone oxide (10.69 %), (E)-caryophyllene (2.64 %) and 1,8-cineole (3.78 %). In T. polium polyphenols with the greatest quantities contained rosmarinic acid (2.0 mg/g), eugenol (2.0 mg/g), trans-ferulic acid (0.48 mg/g), and Hesperetin (0.26 mg/g). On the other hand in the spearmint polyphenols included rosmarinic acid (19.64 mg/g), Hesperidin (4.95 mg/g), trans-ferulic acid (0.63 mg/g), and Quercetin (0.33 mg/g). Furthermore, the results of the present work indicated that both plants had high antioxidant activity. Additionally, the highest phenol composition rosmarinic acid, an anti-cancer substance, was observed and these findings can be useful for medical science.

Keywords:

• Essential oil
• Teucrium polium
• DPPH activity
• rosmarinic acid
• medicinal plant