Oral Administration of Peppermint in Wistar Albino Rats: Memory Boosting and Regaining

The studies on peppermint aroma fluence on cognition are numerous. However the knowledge about oral consumption of peppermint and cognition was inadequate. Hence the present study was undertaken to find out the effect of oral administration of peppermint spices in memory boosting and memory regaining on adult wistar rats. Here we investigate the influence of oral intake of peppermint on behavioral task performance by using T-maze and radial arm maze and physiological measures relative to a milk control group. We have observed significant memory boosting and memory regaining effects of peppermint when administered orally. This effect may be due to improvement of the blood flow to the brain and increasing the concentration power. Hence we recommend further research in this area by investigating compound metabolism to optimize quantification of memory performance following peppermint ingestion

Modulation of cognitive performance and mood by aromas of peppermint and ylang-ylang

This study provides further evidence for the impact of the aromas of plant essential oils on aspects of cognition and mood in healthy participants. One hundred and forty-four volunteers were randomly assigned to conditions of ylang-ylang aroma, peppermint aroma, or no aroma control. Cognitive performance was assessed using the Cognitive Drug Research computerized assessment battery, with mood scales completed before and after cognitive testing. The analysis of the data revealed significant differences between conditions on a number of the factors underpinning the tests that constitute the battery. Peppermint was found to enhance memory whereas ylang-ylang impaired it, and lengthened processing speed. In terms of subjective mood peppermint increased alertness and ylang-ylang decreased it, but significantly increased calmness. These results provide support for the contention that the aromas of essential oils can produce significant and idiosyncratic effects on both subjective and objective assessments of aspects of human behavior. They are discussed with reference to possible pharmacological and psychological modes of influence

Fire and the persistence of tuart woodlands

Tall tuart (Eucalyptus gomphocephala) trees are a defining element of the landscape of Perth and the coastal plain to the north and south. However, with the health of some tuart stands deteriorating, most notably at Yalgorup south of Perth, concerns are heightening that the already fragmented tuart ecosystem will continue to contract, leaving a cultural and ecological scar in the landscape. Like many other eucalypt ecosystems, tuart woodlands have had a long association with fire and are believed to have been frequently burnt by the Aborigines prior to European settlement. Today, fragmentation and European land management practices have led to a lower frequency of fire across most remaining woodlands, but also episodes of intense fire at shorter intervals in some areas. Individual fire events as well as fire regimes have the potential to shape the structure, composition and extent of ecosystems, and eucalypt ecosystems are no different. Thus, the impact of fire and fire regimes on tuart health and regeneration was investigated in this study. A survey of the woodlands at Yalgorup revealed tuart decline was present across a range of sites with contrasting fire histories. Tuart health was poorest at the longest unburnt site (35 years) and the site burnt by frequent wildfire (three fires in 13 years), suggesting these extreme fire regimes had played a role in the decline. Nevertheless, low ratings of tree health at sites burnt approximately once per decade, point to factors other than fire playing a role in the decline of tuart at Yalgorup. The tuart populations at Yalgorup were dominated by individuals in larger size-classes and there was a significant negative relationship between tree size and the probability of tree mortality. In one stand in Yalgorup National Park, 38 % of the tuart saplings/trees had died. It follows that the regeneration and development of tuart seedlings into adults will need to occur within the next one to two decades if these woodlands are to persist. Seedling counts confirmed that tuart regeneration was virtually absent in unburnt areas, as is common with eucalypt species. Interpretations of size-class distributions suggested controlled burning contributed little to recruitment, whereas in areas subject to wildfire outside Yalgorup, tuart had regenerated in abundance such that size-class distributions were skewed towards the smaller size-classes. A repeat survey of plots established in 1976 supported anecdotal reports that the mid-storey tree peppermint (Agonis flexuosa) was increasing in density and height in Yalgorup. The skew towards the smallest size-class within peppermint populations at Yalgorup and the presence of seedlings ( > 200 seedlings ha-1) within areas not recently burnt (at least four years since fire) brought into focus the differing mode of regeneration for this species in comparison to tuart. In further contrast to tuart, mature peppermints were in good health with no dead trees reported in the population surveys. A possible role for competition in tuart decline was highlighted by significant negative correlation between peppermint density and tuart health. Together, these results suggest that a general drift from tuart woodland to peppermint forest appears entrenched. Comparative studies of the bark thickness, fire response and resprouting behaviour of tuart and peppermint illustrated the capacity of individuals of both species to persist with recurrent fire. As adults or juveniles, tuart and peppermint resprouted following complete canopy scorch, and often from crown branches: an ability not uncommon for co-occurring tree species and shrubs in this environment. Survival was between 75 and 100 % for fully-scorched tuarts in size-classes ranging from small saplings to trees across six sites. From the small sample of peppermints available for comparison, seedlings and small saplings appeared to be more vulnerable to mortality by fire; only 45 % of individuals with a diameter at breast height less-equal 1 cm survived following complete canopy scorch from a controlled burn. With thicker bark, a reliance on stem epicormic buds rather than a lignotuber for resprouting and a greater capacity for height growth, the fire resistance and post-fire recovery of tuart would be expected to differ from that for peppermint. Opportunities for managers to exploit these differences in their burning prescriptions so as to address the drift from tuart to peppermint dominance were outlined. In addition, results indicating a positive response in canopy condition for tuarts with < 10 % canopy scorch following a controlled burn imply that tuart vigour may benefit more immediately from fire. But, observations also revealed that spikes in intensity within controlled burns can damage large unhealthy trees and thereby accelerate the decline process. Thus, the application of fire to declining tuart stands needs to be conducted skillfully. Patterns of growth and survival for tuart and peppermint seedlings were linked to the contrasting ability of the species to establish at burnt and unburnt sites. The purported importance of ashbeds in tuart establishment was demonstrated; at the end of summer (February) at a recently burnt site (Golden Bay), the mean height of tuart seedlings on ashbeds was three times that for those off ashbeds, and the survival rate on and off the ashbeds was 35 % and 15 %, respectively. Therefore, while important, tuart seedlings were not dependent on ashbeds in this instance. The hardy nature of peppermint seedlings when compared to tuart was illustrated when the species were planted in an unburnt area of tuart-peppermint woodland at Yalgorup; nine months after planting, 38 % of the peppermint seedlings survived while only 9 % of the tuart survived. Most of the mortality was linked with the summer-drought period and it was suspected that peppermint seedlings were more drought tolerant. A complementary glasshouse experiment showed that tuart had a greater shoot:root ratio than peppermint, which may be one factor in the greater sensitivity of this species to drought. Further, this experiment revealed that with an increase in nutrient supply, the proportional increment in rooting depth for tuart (1.6 times) was significantly greater than for peppermint (0.3 times). An increased availability of nutrients in ashbeds following fire, particularly for phosphorous, was measured within tuart woodland. Therefore, it was inferred that the availability of nutrients was a critical factor increasing the growth, rooting depth and consequently the greater survival of tuarts on ashbeds. Overall, tuart was concluded to share the Competitor strategy (after Grime) in common with many other eucalypts: rapid growth and the attainment of a large size. On the other hand, peppermint exhibits some of the traits of the Stress Tolerator strategy (after Grime): low minimum resource requirements for growth and survival. The consequence of the increasing cover of peppermint on tuart establishment was explored in field experiments with planted tuart seedlings. No significant impact on seedling growth or survival was observed. There was a declining trend in the seedling growth rates under the high compared to the low peppermint density treatments as the second summer of the experiment was approached, although a statistical difference could not be shown. Peppermint density also had no significant influence on damage to the seedlings from insect attack or the foliar pathogen Mycosphaerella cryptica. Overall, insects and M. cryptica had only an incidental impact on the seedlings: the mean level of canopy damage per affected seedling was 50 % in unburnt soil 18 months after planting indicating the potential for restorative plantings to occur in some woodlands between fires. Tuart decline, and the role of altered fire regimes in the decline is complex and further avenues of research were emphasized. Nevertheless, the findings of this and other studies are sufficient to enable purposeful actions to conserve and restore tuart woodlands; recommendations regarding the application of fire with a view to these goals are presented in the final discussion

Phenolics Comparison between Twinning and Celestial Peppermint Teas using HPLC-DAD

Twinings and Celestial pure peppermint herbal tea is made from 100% select peppermint leaves and is naturally caffeine and gluten-free and parts of their differences lie in the packaging. The HPLC profile of Twinning peppermint and celestial peppermint teas showed that both the teas samples contain caffeic acid, ellagic acid, p-coumaric acid, rosmarinic acid and rutin while celestial peppermint tea had an extra phenolic compound called quercetin. Quercetin was known for its anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties, and these properties could be found in celestial peppermint tea compared to the twinning counterpart. Keywords: Twinning, Celestial, Peppermint, Tea, Phenoli

Development of a compact, IoT-enabled electronic nose for breath analysis

In this paper, we report on an in-house developed electronic nose (E-nose) for use with breath analysis. The unit consists of an array of 10 micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) metal oxide (MOX) gas sensors produced by seven manufacturers. Breath sampling of end-tidal breath is achieved using a heated sample tube, capable of monitoring sampling-related parameters, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), humidity, and temperature. A simple mobile app was developed to receive real-time data from the device, using Wi-Fi communication. The system has been tested using chemical standards and exhaled breath samples from healthy volunteers, before and after taking a peppermint capsule. Results from chemical testing indicate that we can separate chemical standards (acetone, isopropanol and 1-propanol) and different concentrations of isobutylene. The analysis of exhaled breath samples demonstrate that we can distinguish between pre- and post-consumption of peppermint capsules; area under the curve (AUC): 0.81, sensitivity: 0.83 (0.59–0.96), specificity: 0.72 (0.47–0.90), p-value: <0.001. The functionality of the developed device has been demonstrated with the testing of chemical standards and a simplified breath study using peppermint capsules. It is our intention to deploy this system in a UK hospital in an upcoming breath research study

Comparative study of total phenolic content and radical scavenging activity of conventionally and organically grown herbs

The aim of the present study was to measure the relative phenolic content in commonly available conventionally and organically grown herbs and to evaluate their antioxidant capacity. Sage (Salvia officinalis), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) and peppermint (Mentha x piperita) leaves, corriander (Corriandrum sativum) and fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) seeds were used in the present investigation. Total phenolic content (TPhC), measured by Folin-Ciocalteu method, and radical scavenging activity (RSA), using DPPH method were determined in infusions prepared from above mentioned herbs. TPhC ranged from 75.9 to 1126.5 gallic acid equivalents (GAE) mg/l infusion and RSA – from 7.03 to 91.65%. The obtained data also showed that infusions prepared from organically grown sage, peppermint and lemon balm were slightly higher than those obtained from conventionally grown herbs

Effect of peppermint oil on serum lipid peroxidation and hepatic enzymes after immobility stress in mice

This study was undertaken to determine the influences of various doses of peppermint oil on the hepatic enzymes, alanine transaminase, apartate tranaminase, alkaline phosphotase and gamma glutamyl transferase and the level of malondialdehyde in the serum of mice with and without immobility stress. The mice exposed to drink water, 0.9, 27 and 60 mg/kg peppermint oil from the days 1 to 5 for a period of 4 h before and after immobility stress. Serum MDA increased in treatment group II, III and IV after immobility stress. There was a significant decrease in ALT in treatment group III and IV after immobility stress. There were also significant decreases in ALP and GGT in treatment group IV after immobility stress. This result may suggest that, MDA level is higher in immobilization stress group than in the un-immobilized animals in serum and this results show that enzyme activities decreased after immobilization stress. © Marjani et al

Cognitive facilitation following intentional odor exposure

This paper reviews evidence that, in addition to incidental olfactory pollutants, intentional odor delivery can impact cognitive operations both positively and negatively. Evidence for cognitive facilitation/interference is reviewed alongside four potential explanations for odor-induced effects. It is concluded that the pharmacological properties of odors can induce changes in cognition. However, these effects can be accentuated/attenuated by the shift in mood following odor exposure, expectancy of cognitive effects, and cues to behavior via the contextual association with the odor. It is proposed that greater consideration is required in the intentional utilization of odors within both industrial and private locations, since differential effects are observed for odors with positive hedonic qualities

Effect of liming on yield and quality of peppermint and Sachalin mint in fine sand soil of Northern Finland

Soil acidity commonly limits plant production in the fine sand soil of Northern Finland, which often has a low pH (5.5-6.5) and contains low levels of Ca and Mg. The effect of five liming (10% Mg and 19% Ca) levels, 0, 4, 8, 12, and 16 tons ha -1 , on the herb and essential oil yield and menthol and menthone content of two mint species (peppermint, Mentha x piperita, a variety of Black Mitcham and Sachalin mint, Mentha arvensis var. sacchalinensis) cultivated in fine sand soil in Northern Finland (6440’N and 2505’E) was studied during 1998-2000. Liming clearly increased the pH levels and the Ca and Mg content of the soil. The dry matter content, essential oil quantity, and the menthol or menthone content in mints were not affected by liming. In comparison with no liming however, liming at a rate of 4 t ha -1 doubled the herb yield. The highest yield was achieved in Sachalin mint by liming at 4 or 8 t ha -1 in the second and third year (soil pH 6-6.5) (Ca 725-871 mg l -1 and Mg 122- 219 mg l -1 ), and in peppermint by liming at 4, 8 or 16 t ha -1 (soil pH 6-6.6) (Ca 725-1272 mg l -1 and Mg 122-245 mg l -1 ). Therefore, we conclude that a higher peppermint and Sachalin mint yield is achieved by increasing soil pH to values above 6.0 in the fine sand soil of Northern Finland