The development of Mentha spp. lipophilic extracts as nutraceutical: the importance of phytochemical composition

The consumers increasing interest in plant derived healthy food ingredients points out the need for new approaches in the extraction and standardization of starting materials and extracts. In this work different extracts obtained from Mentha spp. were considered for the use in nutraceuticals or functional foods and the extracts were subjected to analysis to assess the phytochemical composition. Different plant materials were analyzed and subjected to extraction procedure in laboratory, namely ethanolic Ultrasound Assisted Extraction (UAE) or hydro distillation. Then the industrial process of Supercritical CO2 (SFE) was performed, and composition of the extract was compared to the previously obtained materials. The composition of the obtained extracts was assessed using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Quantitative analyses were also obtained allowing the comparison of the different extracts and bioactive principles presence in the final product. The essential oils aroma profiles were compared allowing the selection of the specific chemotype of each area of origin of the plant material. Furthermore, the analysis in some cases leads to the discovery of pesticides residue on some plant material. The results underline the importance of the quality of the starting materials and revealed the need for standardization of the extracts, that is the first step to establish quality, safety and efficacy of nutraceutical preparations.