Mint and Mint Products

Menthol mint (Mentha arvensis L.) is known as Japanese mint or corn mint and belongs to the family Lamiaceae (Labiatae). Menthol mint is one of the most widely cultivated mints in India; the other mints being grown by the farmers are pepper mint (Mentha piperita) and spearmint (Mentha spicata). All the three mints are annually aromatic crops commonly cultivated in the irrigated area of tropical and subtropical regions of the world. In India, three mint species are grown commercially by the farmers; the most popular mint being cultivated by the famers of Uttar Pradesh is menthol mint or Mentha arvensis. The annual production of menthol mint in India is about 45,000 tons on the area of more than 3.00 lakh hectare. Mint plant is the source of the natural menthol, which is used extensively in a variety of pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and processed food formulations. The mint herb is a regular item of use in the Indian kitchen, and it is used in all cuisines around the globe. This chapter is a holistic review of the three mint species (with emphasis to the menthol mint). The historical beginning of mint in India was in 1954; however, it was commercially adopted by the farmers in 1980 after the development of improved varieties from CSIR-CIMAP, Lucknow. After the development of improved varieties, agro- and processing technologies, and its popularization among the farmers of Indo-Gangetic plains, India represented as the largest producer and exporter of menthol mint oil and its allied products like natural menthol. This chapter deals with the history of the introduction of mint in India, its taxonomy, botany, chemistry, crop management, pests and disease, processing, and its products.