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Apple Mint

A plant with leaves

Description automatically generated with low confidence
This image of Apple Mint is from Ernst Hallier in Flora von Deutschland, 1884.  
Books covering the history of medicinal plants are available in the John R. Martin Rare Book Room in Hardin Library for the Health Sciences. 

Apple Mint (Mentha suaveolens)

Mentha suaveolens, native to southern and central Europe, is a rhizomatous, herbaceous perennial in the pervasive namesake genus of the Mint Family. It is commonly used as a flavoring for teas and food. It grows in humid environments, usually along streams (Božović et al., 2015). Apple mint is an important element of traditional Mediterranean medicine with a wide range of uses. Its leaves and essential oil extracts were used to treat gastrointestinal problems and the symptoms of respiratory illness, as well as for their anticonvulsive, antiseptic, and insecticide effects (Moreno et al., 2002). Today it is used as an anti-inflammatory, analgesic, cytotoxic, antioxidant, hepatoprotective (liver), and antifungal agent (Ayaz et al., 2020). 

Latest Research

References

Ayaz, A., Zaman, W., Ullah, F., Saqib, S., Jamshed, S., Bahadur, S., Shakoor, A., & Arshad, B. (2020). Systematics study through scanning electron microscopy; a tool for the authentication of herbal drug Mentha suaveolens Ehrh. Microsc Res Tech, 83(1), 81-87. https://doi.org/10.1002/jemt.23391  

Božović, M., Pirolli, A., & Ragno, R. (2015). Mentha suaveolens Ehrh. (Lamiaceae) essential oil and its main constituent piperitenone oxide: biological activities and chemistry. Molecules, 20(5), 8605-8633. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules20058605  

Moreno, L., Bello, R., Primo-Yúfera, E., & Esplugues, J. (2002). Pharmacological properties of the methanol extract from Mentha suaveolens Ehrh. Phytother Res, 16 Suppl 1, S10-13. https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.744