Abstract

This study investigates the chemical composition of essential oils extracted from Mentha aquatica plants. Aerial organs from M. aquatica were collected in three different stages:vegetative, flowering and senescence stage. The essential oil was extracted using thehydrodistillation method, with a Neo-Clevenger device. Essential oil samples obtained were analyzed with Agilent gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Essential oils have varied in terms of quality, depending on the time when the investigations were performed. Substances (41) were identified, of which 20 are common in all samples collected in the three phenophases. The main substances identified were: menthofuran(51.26 to 58.59%), limonene (5.94 to 12.06%), trans-β-ocimene (5.59 to 6.10%), ledol (3.01 to 4.06%) and β-caryophyllene (2.923 to 3.557%).

Key words: Mentha aquatica, phenophases, essential oil, menthofuran.