Introduction: The Lamiaceae (mint) family boasts over seven thousand species, Agastache and Monardella, two small genera species native to the Intermountain Region (USA). Agastache urticifolia, a perennial flowering mint, is known for its strong aroma and has been cultivated globally. Monardella odoratissima, a fragrant perennial mint, is found in several western states of the USA. The essential oils from mint plants are used in various industries. Despite this, the essential oil composition of these species, particularly from Utah, has not been extensively studied.
This blog post aims to establish and compare the essential oil composition and chiral profiles of A. urticifolia and M. odoratissima from Utah mountains, comparing the following analytical techniques: Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy (GC/MS), Gas Chromatography/Flame ionization detection (GC/FID), and Molecular Rotational Resonance (MRR) Spectroscopy. These analyses provide valuable insights into these species.
The Problem: Despite their economic and academic significance, the essential oil composition of A. urticifolia and M. odoratissima remains largely unexplored due to significant technical challenges, insufficient interdisciplinary collaboration, complexity of essential oil profiles and the lack of enantiopure standards. First, analyzing these oils, particularly their chiral profiles, demands advanced, specialized analytical techniques that are not universally accessible. Second, a lack of collaboration and communication between botanists, chemists, and pharmacologists hampers a comprehensive study of these plants. Third, the essential oil profiles of these plants are complex and variable. For instance, M. odoratissima contains additional compounds like sabinene and citronellol, adding to the difficulty of analysis. Lastly, in many cases, enantiopure standards needed for chiral analysis are unavailable, complicating the study of chiral profiles using traditional methods. Pioneering this research not only fills a critical gap but also paves the way for exploring other uncharted territories. This is where Molecular Rotational Resonance (MRR) truly excels.
Why It is Crucial: Studying the essential oil profiles of these plants is vital for several reasons. It provides insights into their potential pharmacological properties, contributes to the taxonomy and chemotaxonomy of these species, aiding in their classification and identification, and adds to the body of knowledge about aromatic plants in the mint family, which are widely used in various industries. By providing accurate and detailed insights, MRR offers unparalleled precision and sensitivity in analyzing both achiral and chiral components of essential oils, surpassing the capabilities of traditional methods like Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy (GC/MS) and Gas Chromatography/Flame Ionization Detection (GC/FID). This precision is particularly important for species like Agastache urticifolia and Monardella odoratissima, where understanding the complex and variable essential oil compositions is critical for advancing pharmacological research and taxonomy. Additionally, MRR excels in situations where enantiopure standards are unavailable, providing reliable and accurate chiral analysis that is essential for characterizing the unique chemical profiles of these plants. By overcoming technical challenges and offering a high level of detail, MRR facilitates a deeper understanding of the pharmacological potential and taxonomic classification of these under-researched mint species, paving the way for future scientific discoveries and applications in various industries
Charting the Course Forward: The analysis revealed that both plants' essential oils are predominantly composed of limonene, trans-ocimene, and pulegone, but M. odoratissima has a more complex composition with additional compounds like sabinene, 1,8-cineole, and citronellol. In addition, The analysis also focused on eight chiral pairs from both species revealing an intriguing phenomenon: the dominant enantiomer of limonene and pulegone differed between the two. In cases where enantiopure standards were unavailable, MRR emerged as a dependable analytical technique for chiral analysis. This research not only confirms the achiral profile of A. urticifolia but also, for the first time, establishes the achiral profile for M. odoratissima, along with the chiral profile for both species. Moreover, it underscores the effectiveness and feasibility of MRR in determining the chiral profiles of essential oils and provides a foundation for future research on these plants' pharmacological properties and taxonomy.
Conclusion: The study of essential oil composition of Agastache urticifolia and Monardella odoratissima has remained largely unexplored, posing a challenge to pharmacological research and taxonomy-chemotaxonomic classification. Molecular Rotational Resonance (MRR) provided a crucial solution to this problem. Essential oils from these plants were extracted through steam distillation and analyzed using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy (GC/MS), Gas Chromatography/Flame Ionization Detection (GC/FID), and MRR Spectroscopy. MRR, in particular, proved indispensable in determining the chiral profiles of the essential oils. It offered precise, reliable analysis even when enantiopure standards were unavailable. This advanced technique not only confirmed the achiral profiles of A. urticifolia and M. odoratissima but also, for the first time, established their chiral profiles. By highlighting the differences in dominant enantiomers between the two species, MRR has demonstrated its value in enhancing our understanding of these plants' essential oils, paving the way for future pharmacological research and improving taxonomic classification. By establishing both achiral and chiral profiles for A. urticifolia and M. odoratissima, we set a solid foundation for future studies and applications to support MRR.
Learn more about MRR from our CTO: Introduction to MRR Principles and Instrumentation.
For a deeper dive into our findings, read the full article below:
