Biodiversity within the Species [Mentha piperita L. and

Mentha spicata var. crispa (Schrod.) Briq.] at NARDI Fundulea

Niculina Ionescu

 National Agricultural Research and Development Institute Fundulea

Keywords: variety, peppermint, volatile oil, menthol, crisp mint, herb production, carvone.

Abstract: Peppermint occupies an important place among medicinal and aromatic plants due toits aerial organs, which contain volatile oil rich in menthol. Menthol provides peppermint tea with a specific aroma and a pleasant, refreshing taste, giving it and the volatile oil valuable therapeutic properties.
Peppermint tea, used as a food and medicinal product, has a calming, stomachic, anticolic, antiasthmatic, antiseptic, cholagogue, choleretic and antidiarrheal action.
The volatile oil, namely menthol, is used in the food industry to flavor liqueurs, candies, chewing gum and in the chemical-pharmaceutical industry, to prepare some medicines.
Crisp mint (Mentha spicata var. crispa), a species with volatile oil rich in carvone, is cultivated for the aerial organs of the plant, used in the form of tea or for the extraction of the volatile oil.
Tea, used for food or medicinal purposes, has a carminative, intestinal spasmolytic, cholagogue, choleretic, stomachic and antiparasitic effect.
Within the pippermint species, the following varieties were tested: Columna (1972), Cordial (1989), Cristal (2000) and Coral (2009) and within the species crisp mint, two varieties were studied: Mencris (1975) and Record (1992).
The volatile oil is used in perfumery and to flavor some toothpastes and chewing gums.
By creating peppermint and crisp mint varieties, significant genetic progress was made both in terms of green herb production, ranging from 65 q/ha in older varieties to 190 q/ha in current varieties, and in terms of its quality due to the volatile oil content ranging from 2.7 to 10.9%.
 The average production of dried leaves and inflorescences is between 8 q/ha in older varieties and 32 q/ha in more current varieties.
 The menthol content of peppermint varieties was improved from 46% to 66.6%, whilethe carvone content was adjusted from 50.4% to 55.6%.