Analysis of Polyphenolic Composition of a Herbal Medicinal Product—Peppermint Tincture

Abstract

The pharmacological activity of peppermint leaf (Menthae piperitae folium) for medical use is mainly attributed to the presence of essential oil, which, according to the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.), should constitute not less than 12 mL/kg of raw material. The content of polyphenols in peppermint-based preparations, except peppermint leaf dry extract, has not yet been considered as an essential parameter in the pharmacopeial assessment of peppermint quality. This study concerns the evaluation of the presence of representatives of polyphenolic compounds in 23 commercial peppermint tinctures (ethanolic extracts) purchased in pharmacies in Poland. The non-volatile polyphenolic fraction was investigated, and the presence of flavonoids and phenolic acids was quantified. High performance liquid chromatography coupled with a diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD) and an electrospray ionization mass spectrometer (U(H)PLC-ESI-MS) were used in the experiment. The study showed that eriocitrin, luteolin-7-O-rutinoside, and rosmarinic acid were the main polyphenolic components of the peppermint tinctures, as previously reported for peppermint leaf. Despite this, the research shows the extremely diverse content of the mentioned compounds in analyzed commercial medicinal products. In light of these results, it seems that the pharmacopeial assessment for the peppermint leaf (Ph. Eur.) and peppermint tincture (Polish Pharmacopoeia (FP)) requires correction and supplementation.

The metabolomic analysis of five Mentha species: cytotoxicity, anti-Helicobacter assessment, and the development of polymeric micelles for enhancing the anti-Helicobacter activity

“…Those results were in agreement with those reported for other Mentha species. [47][48][49] M. viridis, which showed the best anti-Helicobacter activity, was tentatively identied to contain a variety of active constituents, including protocatechuic, shikimic, homovanillic, ferulic, salvianolic, sagerinic, and rosmarinic acids, in addition to the presence of avonoids, such as gallocatechin, hesperidin, epicatechin, and naringin, and monoterpenes, such as carvone and piperitone oxide. Catechins have been reported to eradicate H. pylori when in combination with sialic acid.…”

Systematic Analysis of Combined Antioxidant and Membrane-Stabilizing Properties of Several Lamiaceae Family Kazakhstani Plants for Potential Production of Tea Beverages

“…Other authors, reporting the antioxidant activity of some plant extracts of the family Lamiaceae , including Ziziphora bungeana , Dracocephalum integrifolium , Mentha piperita , Leonurus turkestanicus , and Salvia officinalis attributed their scavenging activity to phenolic and flavonoid contents [ 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ]. Furthermore, Marchioni et al also described strong antioxidant effects for Lamiaceae edible flowers in comparison and evaluated the aroma profile spontaneously emitted from the seven selected Lamiaceae flowers [ 44 ].…”

Stability of Rosmarinic Acid and Flavonoid Glycosides in Liquid Forms of Herbal Medicinal Products—A Preliminary Study

“…Three reference compounds were used in this study: Rosmarinic acid, RA (Extrasynthese Genay, France; HPLC purity > 99%); luteolin-7-O-β-glucuronide = luteolin-7-Oβ-glucuronoside, Lgr (isolated from Serpylli herba; HPLC-DAD purity > 95%); eriocitrin = eriodictyol-7-O-rutinoside, Er (isolated from Menthae piperitae folium, HPLC-DAD purity > 95%) [30,31]. The preparation of standard solutions and validation parameters (linearity, coefficients of determination, linear ranges, limits of detection (LOD) and quantitation (LOQ)) of authentic standards for the HPLC-DAD method can be found in previous research [32].…”

“…The HPLC-DAD analysis conditions were set as in a previous paper [32]. The method has undergone validation according to ICH guidelines Q2 Analytical Validation [33].…”