Essential oil composition of different accessions of Mentha x piperita L. grown on the northern plains of India

The essential oil composition of four accessions, C-62, P-17, C-45 and C-59, with control LK of Mentha x piperita, cultivated at the CIMAP Research Farm, Lucknow, were analysed by GC and GC-MS, which resulted in the identification of 61, 74, 67, 68 and 55 constituents, representing 99.7%, 99.6%, 99.7%, 92.3% and 91.6% of the oils, respectively. The performance of accessions C-62, P-17, C-45 and C-59 against the control LK was also evaluated. The yield of fresh material, 17.2, 18.2, 17.5, 16.4 and 18.0 tons/ha, and the production of essential oils, 72.6, 145.5, 80.1, 74.6 and 75.8 kg/ha, was satisfactory. Accessions C-62, C45 and P-17 were found suitable for cultivation of peppermint, with acceptable amounts of menthol, menthone and menthyl acetate. It is interesting to observe that menthofuran was also absent in all the four accessions except the control. The essential oil of accession P-17 was superior over the other accessions, with an almost twice higher oil yield and an oil profile composition comparable to those of other accessions. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.