The genus Mentha includes about 40 species, 15 hybrids and hundreds of cultivars of plants of this genus belonging to the Lamiaceae family.

Mentha genus is  divided in:

• Audibertia
• Eriodontes
• Mentha
• Preslia
• Pulegium

Most are perennial sunplants and native to Europe, grown in the USA, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia and South America.

Mint contain essential oils and is widely used as an aroma in drinks, foods and cigarettes.

From an economic point of view the most important species are:

• Mentha aquatica L.
• Mentha canadensis L.
• Mentha spicata L. (spearmint) and their hybrids ( Mentha piperita L. peppermint)

The typical flavor of mint is due to menthol, an alcoholic terpene and carvone, a terpene ketone.

Mint leaves are used as tea against digestive disorders, headaches.

                                  _____________________

Mentha aquatica belongs to the Lamiacee family like all types of mint. it has a pink flower that is used for decoctions.

It is about 20 cm tall, grows in wetlands and the stem has the characteristic of being covered with green hairs with characteristic scent.

This study examined the content of mentha aquatica and confirmed the antioxidant and antibacterial activity of methanol and chloroform extracted from the plant's aerial parts as well as other polyphenol compounds, sterols and triterpenoids (1).

The neuroprotective activity of mentha aquatica was detected in research aimed at studying the potential activities of traditional medicinal plants on the central nervous system. Among four species of mint (Mentha aquatica, Mentha longifolia, Mentha pulegium, Mentha suaveolens and M. x piperita), mentha aquatica has shown better neuroprotective results (2).

Sixteen edible plants in southern Italy have been evaluated for their anti-proliferation properties in vitro. Aquatic mint showed selective anti-proliferation activity in breast cancer (3).

Mentha aquatica studies

References_________________________________________________________________________

(1) Ferhat M, Erol E, Beladjila KA, Çetintaş Y, Duru ME, Öztürk M, Kabouche A, Kabouche Z. Antioxidant, anticholinesterase and antibacterial activities of Stachys guyoniana and Mentha aquatica.    Pharm Biol. 2017 Dec;55(1):324-329.

(2) López V, Martín S, Gómez-Serranillos MP, Carretero ME, Jäger AK, Calvo MI. Neuroprotective and neurochemical properties of mint extracts.    Phytother Res. 2010 Jun;24(6):869-74. doi: 10.1002/ptr.3037.

(3) Conforti F, Ioele G, Statti GA, Marrelli M, Ragno G, Menichini F.  Antiproliferative activity against human tumor cell lines and toxicity test on Mediterranean dietary plants.   Food Chem Toxicol. 2008 Oct;46(10):3325-32. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2008.08.004.