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<i>Mentha pulegium</i> L.: A Plant Underestimated for Its Toxicity to Be Recovered from the Perspective of the Circular Economy
oleh: Lucia Caputo, Laura Cornara, Francesco Maria Raimondo, Vincenzo De Feo, Stefano Vanin, Marcella Denaro, Domenico Trombetta, Antonella Smeriglio
Format: | Article |
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Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2021-04-01 |
Deskripsi
The aim of the study was to investigate the micromorphology of <i>Mentha pulegium</i> leaves and flowers harvested in three different Sicilian (Italy) areas with peculiar pedo-climatic conditions, and to characterize the phytochemical profile, the phytotoxic activity, and the eco-compatibility of their essential oils (EOs) for potential use as safe bioherbicides. Light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) highlighted that <i>M. pulegium</i> indumentum consists of non-glandular and glandular trichomes of different types. Peltate trichomes of plants from the different sites showed few significant differences in dimension and abundance, but they were characterized by a surprisingly high number of secretory cells both in leaves and flowers. Phytochemical analyses showed that oxygenated monoterpenes were the most abundant class in all the EOs investigated (92.2–97.7%), but two different chemotypes, pulegone/isomenthone and piperitone/isomenthone, were found. The complex of morphological and phytochemical data indicates that soil salinity strongly affects the expression of the toxic metabolite pulegone, rather than the EO yield. Phytotoxicity tests showed a moderate activity of EOs against the selected species as confirmed by α-amylase assay. Moreover, the low toxicity on brine shrimp provided a rationale for the possible use of investigated EOs as eco-friendly herbicides.