Horsemint as a potential raw material for the food industry: survey on the chemistry of a less studied mint species

Horsemint ( Mentha longifolia L), is wild-growing species, widespread in Eurasia and Africa. The review focuses on its potential utilization as a preservative and flavoring in the food industry based on the polyphenolic and terpenoid composition. Several phenolic antioxidants were detected in horsemint, among which rosmarinic acid may have a key role. Nineteen other acids, and fifty-five flavonoids (six which are de novo) were also identified. The antiradical efficacy in horsemint extract has not yet been adequately justified. Similarly, systematic screening of the flavonoid composition of the species is lacking. Horsemint essential oils possesses an outstandingly wide variability in composition which may serve as basis of special flavoring or antimicrobial agents. The efficacy of horsemint volatiles have been demonstrated against more than twenty microbes. As current literature of horsemint lacks comparable results, the present review provides the broadest and therefore, a critical overview, on its most important secondary compounds and the factors influencing their accumulation.