Using wastewater to enhance mint production

Plant distillation waste can increase yields, essential oil content in peppermint, spearmint

2011-03-04

(Press-News.org) SOUTH VERONA, MS—When essential oils are extracted from plants through the process of steam distillation, wastewater is produced and subsequently released into rivers and streams. Finding new uses for these unused by-products could benefit essential oil crop growers and processors as well as the environment. A team of researchers has found that the residual distillation water of some aromatic plant species has a beneficial effect on yields and can increase essential oil content of peppermint and spearmint crops.

Peppermint and spearmint are commercially produced for their essential oils, dry leaves used in herbal teas, and as fresh culinary herbs. Essential oils from both mints are widely used in the production of chewing gum, toothpaste, mouthwashes, confectionaries, pharmaceuticals, and aromatherapy products. New methods of improving yield and essential oil content in peppermint and spearmint crops could produce economic benefits for large-scale production operations and create more environmentally sustainable systems.

One previous study of plant distillation wastewater found that wastewater from sage, thyme, and rosemary contained antioxidants and could be used as an ingredient in marinades for turkey meat. "We hypothesized that residual distillation water could have an effect on peppermint and spearmint plants when used as a foliar spray", said Mississippi State University professor Valtcho D. Zheljazkov, corresponding author of a study that tested plant hormones and distillation wastewater on peppermint and spearmint plants.

Zheljazkov and colleagues reported on their collaborative research in HortScience. The team evaluated the effects of three plant hormones (methyl jasmonate, gibberellic acid, and salicylic acid) at three concentrations and the residual distillation water from 15 plant species applied as foliar sprays on biomass yields, essential oil content, and essential oil yield of peppermint (Mentha x piperita 'Black Mitcham') and spearmint (Mentha spicata 'Native').

The application of salicylic acid at 1000 mg/L increased biomass yields of both species. Methyl jasmonate at 100 and 1000 mg/L, gibberellic acid at 10 mg/L, salicylic acid at 10 or 100 mg/L, and distillation water of seven plant species all increased the essential oil content of peppermint, whereas the oil content of spearmint was increased only by distillation water of one plant species.

"The study demonstrated that the residual distillation water of some aromatic plant species may have an effect on crop species and may be used as a tool for increasing essential oil content or essential oil yields of peppermint and spearmint crops. Further research is needed to elucidate the effect of these treatments on essential oil composition and to verify the effects under field conditions", said Zheljazkov.

INFORMATION:

The complete study and abstract are available on the ASHS HortScience electronic journal web site: http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/45/9/1338

Founded in 1903, the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) is the largest organization dedicated to advancing all facets of horticultural research, education, and application. More information at ashs.org

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Researchers find possible new treatment strategies for pancreatic cancer

2011-03-04

Athens, Ga. – New University of Georgia research has identified a protein that can be modified to improve the effectiveness of one of the most common drugs used to treat pancreatic cancer. The research, published in the March edition of the journal Cancer Research, found that a cell-surface protein called CNT1, which transports cancer-killing drugs into tumor cells, was reduced in function in two thirds of pancreatic tumors. By improving the function of CNT1, the researchers increased the effectiveness of the cancer-killing drugs in pancreatic tumor cells derived from ...

Feet first? Old mitochondria might be responsible for neuropathy in the extremities

2011-03-04

The burning, tingling pain of neuropathy may affect feet and hands before other body parts because the powerhouses of nerve cells that supply the extremities age and become dysfunctional as they complete the long journey to these areas, Johns Hopkins scientists suggest in a new study. The finding may eventually lead to new ways to fight neuropathy, a condition that often accompanies other diseases including HIV/AIDS, diabetes and circulatory disorders. Neuropathies tend to hit the feet first, then travel up the legs. As they reach the knees, they often start affecting ...

Doctors lax in monitoring potentially addicting drugs

2011-03-04

March 3, 2011 — (BRONX, NY) — Few primary care physicians pay adequate attention to patients taking prescription opioid drugs — despite the potential for abuse, addiction and overdose, according to a new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. The study, published in the March 2 online edition of the Journal of General Internal Medicine, found lax monitoring even of patients at high risk for opioid misuse, such as those with a history of drug abuse or dependence. The findings are especially concerning considering that prescription ...

Method developed to match police sketch, mug shot

2011-03-04

The long-time practice of using police facial sketches to nab criminals has been, at best, an inexact art. But the process may soon be a little more exact thanks to the work of some Michigan State University researchers. A team led by MSU University Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Anil Jain and doctoral student Brendan Klare has developed a set of algorithms and created software that will automatically match hand-drawn facial sketches to mug shots that are stored in law enforcement databases. Once in use, Klare said, the implications are ...

AgriLife Research scientists trumpeting possible new adaptation of tropical flower

2011-03-04

VERNON – Texas AgriLife Research scientists are trying to bring more beauty to the colder regions of the state by breeding winter-hardiness into a tropical ornamental plant, the angel's trumpet flower. Dr. Dariusz Malinowski, AgriLife Research plant physiologist and forage agronomist in Vernon, along with Dr. Bill Pinchak and Shane Martin, both with AgriLife Research, and Steve Brown, program director for Texas Foundation Seed Service, began the project three years ago. The goal of the project is to develop new cultivars with a range of flower colors, shapes and size, ...

New study to look at economics, groundwater use of bioenergy feedstocks

2011-03-04

AMARILLO – Biofuel feedstock production in the Texas High Plains could significantly change the crop mix, which could affect regional income and groundwater consumption, according to Texas AgriLife Research and Texas AgriLife Extension Service economists. Dr. Steve Amosson, AgriLife Extension economist in Amarillo, and Dr. Seong Park, AgriLife Research economist in Vernon, are joining other economists to model the socio-economic effects of climate change on the Ogallala Aquifer. The project, Economics and Groundwater-Use Implications of Bioenergy Feedstocks Production ...

Scripps Research scientists create cell assembly line

2011-03-04

JUPITER, FL, March 3, 2011 – Borrowing a page from modern manufacturing, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have built a microscopic assembly line that mass produces synthetic cell-like compartments. The new computer-controlled system represents a technological leap forward in the race to create the complex membrane structures of biological cells from simple chemical starting materials. "Biology is full of synthetic targets that have inspired chemists for more than a century," said Brian Paegel, Scripps Research assistant professor ...

Breast cancer survivors at higher risk for falls

2011-03-04

St. Louis, MO, March 4, 2011 – The combined effects of chemotherapy and endocrine therapy may increase the risk of bone fractures in breast cancer survivors. In a study scheduled for publication in the April issue of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, researchers from the Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute, Portland, asked post-menopausal breast cancer survivors whether they had fallen in the past year and then tracked their falls over a six-month study period. They found evidence that women who have survived breast cancer may ...

USSelfStorageLocator.com - New User-Friendly Locator and Rental Search Engine Prides Itself on Being a "Self Storage Promoter"

2011-03-04

Let's face it, if you want your self storage facility to just appear amongst a long list of facilities in your area, you have plenty of website directories to choose from, then maybe USSelfStorageLocator.com is not for you. But if you want your facility promoted to millions of consumers looking and willing to rent online, then, maybe you should log-in to USSelfStorageLocator.com, find your facility from its extensive data base and claim it as yours After a brief verification process (for security reasons) activate it. If your facility is not listed, just add it using their ...

Human stem cells transformed into key neurons lost in Alzheimer's

2011-03-04

CHICAGO --- Northwestern Medicine researchers for the first time have transformed a human embryonic stem cell into a critical type of neuron that dies early in Alzheimer's disease and is a major cause of memory loss. This new ability to reprogram stem cells and grow a limitless supply of the human neurons will enable a rapid wave of drug testing for Alzheimer's disease, allow researchers to study why the neurons die and could potentially lead to transplanting the new neurons into people with Alzheimer's. The paper will be published March 4 in the journal Stem Cells. ...

Measurable residual disease shows strong potential as an early indicator of survival in patients with acute myeloid leukemia

Chemotherapy and radiation are comparable as pre-transplant conditioning for patients with b-acute lymphoblastic leukemia who have no measurable residual disease

Using wastewater to enhance mint production

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: