Radioprotective potential of mint: A brief review

Abstract

Radiation is an important modality in cancer treatment and estimates are that between one third and one half of all patients will require ionizing irradiation therapy during some point in their clinical management. However, the radiation-induced damage to the normal tissues restricts the therapeutic doses of radiation that can be delivered to tumors and thereby limits the effectiveness of the treatment. The use of chemical compounds (radioprotectors) represents an obvious strategy to improve the therapeutic index in radiotherapy. However, most of the synthetic radioprotective compounds studied have shown inadequate clinical application owing to their inherent toxicity and high cost. These observations necessitated a search for alternative agents that are less toxic and highly effective. Studies in the recent past have shown that some medicinal plants possess radioprotective effects. Two species of the commonly used aromatic herb mint, Mentha piperita and M. arvensis protected mice against the γ-radiation-induced sickness and mortality. Detail investigations have also shown that the aqueous extract of M. piperita protected the vital radiosensitive organs: the testis, gastrointestinal and hemopoetic systems in mice. The radioprotective effects are possibly due to free radical scavenging, antioxidant, metal chelating, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, and enhancement of the DNA repair processes. This review for the first time summarizes the observations and elucidates the possible mechanisms responsible for the beneficial effects. The lacunae in the existing knowledge and directions for future research are also addressed.

Effect of aqueous extracts of Mentha arvensis (mint) and Piper betle (betel) on growth and citrinin production from toxigenic Penicillium citrinum

“…It is rich in polyphenols like menthoside, rutin, tilianine and luteolin. The essential oil of mint contains menthol, menthone, methyl esters, carvone, limonene and mycrene (Baliga and Rao 2010). P. betle is a common vine belonging to the family piperaceae.…”

Prevention of Nephropathy by Some Natural Sources of Antioxidants

“…Peppermint has numerous pharmacological, cosmetic and alimental applications due to its ability to produce terpene and terpenoid compounds. Ba- [114] reported that mint was protected mice against the γ-radiationinduced sickness and mortality. The radioprotective effects are possibly due to free radical scavenging, antioxidant, metal chelating, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, and enhancement of the DNA repair processes.…”

Chemical composition, antibacterial and antifungal activities of Saudi Arabian Mentha longifolia L. essential oil

“…The essential oils of Mentha longifolia L. (M. longifolia) have been extensively investigated, as evident in a large number of studies focusing on their antiviral, antimicrobial, antifungal [10][11][12], antibiofilm formation [13][14][15], radioprotective [16,17], antioedema, analgesic and antioxidant properties [13].…”