Abstract
Cultivation of mint timija (Mentha suaveolens subsp. timija (Briq.) Harley) constitutes a promising solution to the conservation and sustainable utilization of this Moroccan endemic and threatened species. Optimized agronomic practices require mineral and/or biological fertilizer applications. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of application of a complete (N, P, and K) mineral fertilizer and vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) inoculation on the composition, antioxidant, and insecticidal properties of mint timija essential oils (EOs). The GC-MS analyses identified 27 components representing more than 99.9% of the total oils. Menthone (40.7–49.3%), pulegone (31.3–36.5%), and isomenthone (2.5–4.4%) were found to be the main constituents. Cultivation of mint timija with mineral fertilizer and VAM inoculation induced an increase in menthone content and a parallel decrease of pulegone. Both treatments enhanced the antioxidant activity of the investigated EOs in all assays (IC50 ranged from 2.34 ± 0.03 mg/mL to 6.82 ± 0.25 mg/mL), while no significant difference in the toxicities of these oils against Tribolium confusum du Val. has been observed. Overall, we conclude that cultivation using complete mineral fertilizer and VAM inoculation could be useful in modulating the chemical composition and enhancing the antioxidant activity of the EO of this endemic Moroccan species.
Highlights
The majority of Mentha species are considered as medicinal and aromatic plants and are known to possess several biological and pharmacological properties, primarily due to their essential oils (EOs) contents [1, 2]
These results demonstrated that cultivation of this species with N, P, and K fertilizer or vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) inoculation had no significant effect on the EO production
These findings are in line with what has been reported for other aromatic and medicinal species exposed to these treatments, such as Thymus maroccanus and T. leptobotrys [21], Rosmarinus officinalis [20], and Lippia citriodora [29]
Summary
The majority of Mentha species are considered as medicinal and aromatic plants and are known to possess several biological and pharmacological properties, primarily due to their essential oils (EOs) contents [1, 2]. As with other aromatic and medicinal plants, is frequently collected from its natural habitat. It has been observed that this practice has increased the amount of pulegone in the EO extracted from mint timija. This compound at higher doses is known for its toxicity and its dangerous effects to human health [9]. It has been shown that the toxicity of pulegone is mainly due to its transformation into menthofuran, considered as a violent toxin against the lungs and liver [10]
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