Water deficit-induced alterations in chemical composition of fresh vs. dried peppermint (Mentha piperita L.)

Abstract

In this study, the effects of water stress on the fresh and dried herbage yield, essential oil content, and the composition of 25 different volatile oil constituents of Mentha piperita L. were investigated. The experiment was conducted under controlled pot conditions with four irrigation regimes: field capacity (100%, no stressed–NS), 75% of field capacity (mild stress–MS), 50% (moderate stress–MdS), and 25% (severe stress–SS). Herbage yield decreased with increasing water stress. While the essential oil percentage increased under mild and moderate stress, severe stress reduced total oil yield due to biomass loss. Viridiflorol showed the largest decrease, with a 50% reduction under MdS. The highest increases after drying were observed under non-stressed conditions, with γ-terpinene (198%), germacrene-D (83%) and terpinen-4-ol (68%). Water stress and drying significantly altered the concentrations of monoterpene and sesquiterpene compounds, leading to distinct compositional profiles between fresh and dried herbage. Essential oil constituents in fresh herbage exhibited a more dispersed and independent profile, whereas post-drying metabolic relationships became more structured and pronounced. Correlation analyses demonstrated strong positive and negative relationships among certain alcohols, esters, ketones, and sesquiterpenes, which were associated with common biosynthetic pathways and post-harvest processing effects. Drying was found to influence both the quantitative and qualitative profiles of essential oils, highlighting the importance of optimal processing methods. The stress levels at which the greatest increases or decreases in compound concentrations were observed were generally no stress and mild water stress conditions.

Keywords

• Mentha piperita L
• Water stres
• Drying
• Oil Yield
• Essential oil composition

Su stresinin taze ve kuru nanenin (Mentha piperita L.) kimyasal kompozisyonuna etkileri

Abstract

Araştırmada, Mentha piperita L.’nin taze ve kuru herba verimi, uçucu yağ içeriği ve 25 farklı uçucu yağ bileşiği üzerine su stresinin etkileri incelenmiştir. Deneme, kontrollü saksı koşullarında: tarla kapasitesi (%100, stres yok-NS) ve tarla kapasitesinin %75’i (hafif stres-MS), %50’si (orta düzey stres-MdS) ve %25’i (şiddetli stres-SS) düzeylerinde yürütülmüştür. Herba verimi, stres ile azalmıştır. Uçucu yağ oranı hafif ve orta streste artarken, şiddetli stres biyokütledeki kayıp nedeniyle toplam yağ verimini azaltmıştır. Viridiflorol, orta streste %50'lik bir azalma ile en büyük düşüşü göstermiştir. Kurutma sonrası en yüksek artışlar, stressiz konuda γ-terpinene’de (%198), germacrene-D’de (%83) ve terpinen-4-ol’de (%68) gözlenmiştir. Su stresi ve kurutma monoterpen ve seskiterpen bileşiklerinde belirgin değişiklikler oluşturmuş ve taze ile kuru herba arasında farklı profiller ortaya çıkarmıştır. Taze herbada uçucu yağ bileşenleri daha bağımsız ve dağınık bir profile sahipken, kurutma sonrası metabolik ilişkiler daha düzenli ve güçlü hale gelmiştir. Korelasyon analizleri, belirli alkol, ester, keton ve seskiterpenler arasında güçlü pozitif ve negatif ilişkiler oluşturmuş; bunun, ortak biyosentetik yollar ve hasat sonrası işleme etkileriyle ilişkili olduğu saptanmıştır. Kurutma, uçucu yağların nicelik ve nitelik profillerini etkilemiş ve bu nedenle optimum işleme yöntemlerinin önemli olduğu görülmüştür. Bileşiklerin kurutma ile en fazla arttığı veya azaldığı stres düzeyleri genel olarak stressiz ve hafif su stresi olarak belirlenmiştir.

Keywords

• Mentha piperita L
• Su stresi
• Kurutma
• Yağ verimi
• Uçucu yağ bileşikleri

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