Growth, Yield and Chemical Composition of Essential Oil of Mentha piperita var. multimentha Grown Under Different Agro-ecological Locations in Egypt

AbstractThis investigation was carried out during two successive seasons to evaluate the growth productivity and oil quality of Mentha piperita var. multimentha grown in four different locations in Egypt (El-Sharkia, El-Fayoum, Ismailia and North Sinai). The obtained results refer to presence of high significant differences between locations under study and a positive correlation could be observed between the yield of Mentha plants and temperate climate conditions. The samples from El-Fayoum location showed the highest record for all growth parameters than other locations. On the other hand, there is a great variability in the yield of essential oils where the EO ranged from 0.285 to 1.240% according to the agro-ecological region of cultivation. The chemical composition of EOs obtained from different locations are characterized by high menthone/menthol contents and high antioxidant activity especially in the plants grown in El-Fayoum and Ismailia which could be attributed to their high amount of phenolic ...