Phytochemical composition and antioxidant properties of Mentha species
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2014 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | Acta Universitatis Palackianae Olomucensis Chemica 51S |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Analytic chemistry |
| Keywords | capillary electrophoresis; flavonoids; sample treatment; mentha |
| Description | The variety in chemical composition of various herbal species and subspecies strongly influences its gustative and nutrient properties. Genus Mentha includes many species and hybrids which differ not only in plant anatomy, but also in taste and flavour. As the most common species Mentha piperita, longifolia, suaveolens, spicata or arvensis can be mentioned. Mentha herbs are mostly applied for treating of rheumatism, dyspepsia, gastric discomfort and skin allergies. Also, the most Mentha species have antibacterial and antioxidant effects which can be attributed to the presence of polyphenolic compounds. The interest about clarifying the presence of biologically active compounds in numerous plants and herbs grows and still requires new analytical method development. Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) belongs to the most applied separation techniques for the determination of polyphenolics in herbal material. However, fundamental part of the method is based on sample pretreatment. The most widely used techniques for polyphenolic compounds isolation are sonification, Soxhlet extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, solid phase extraction and liquid-liquid extraction. In our work, we studied various extraction procedures to find the most suitable pretreatment for determination of selected polyphenolic constituents in ten samples of Mentha species using capillary zone electrophoresis. Further, we compared antioxidant characteristics of extracts, obtained in spectrophotometric measurements. The knowledge about plant phytochemistry and antioxidant properties facilitates to understand its medical effects and helps streamline its utilization in natural medicine and pharmacology. |
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