Diversity and profiles of volatile compounds in twenty-five peppermint genotypes grown in China

Peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) is one of the most cultivated and consumed herbs. The pharmaceutical properties and nutrition values of peppermint oil make it an important commercial product. This study aimed to explore the volatile compounds in the essential oil extracted from different peppermint genotypes commercially grown in China. Oil extraction using a steam distillation followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry resulted in the quantification of 53 volatile compounds from five major classes, including esters, alcohols, ketones, terpenes, and volatile compounds. The highest essential oil yields were observed in Golden mint, Silver mint, Scottish mint, and Banana mint. Moreover, three genotypes, viz., Milk fruit mint, Winter Mint, and Pineapple, were screened with the highest diversity of volatile compounds. Major volatiles identified were linalyl acetate, 1-octene-3-acetate, geranyl acetate, neryl acetate, menthol, linalool, menthone, and carvone. The phenotypic characterization coupled with the volatile profiling in this study provides the basis for selecting and improving the investigated peppermint genotypes for specific commercial uses.