Enhancing essential oil feedstocks and high-value products from Mentha species for local Ugandan economies.

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Several aromatic oil compounds (essential oils) of high commercial value are produced naturally by the leaves of mint plants (Mentha). Mint oil extracts are promoted for their health benefits and are used to flavour drinks, ice cream, chewing gum, as well as in cosmetics and personal care products such as toothpaste and shower gel. Menthol is a key component of mint essential oils, particularly those isolated from peppermint Mentha x piperita, and has a large international market with a value of around $800m p.a. Another chemical component, nepetalactone, a potent natural insect repellent normally found in catnip, has recently been identified in the pineapple mint species Mentha suaveolens. As part of a previous collaborative project, the potential for mint as a non-food crop for Ugandan farmers has been explored, a mint garden with selected varieties established near Kampala, and pilot-scale distillation equipment constructed to extract oil from a harvested spearmint crop. This suggests that wide-scale commercial cultivation of mint crops in Uganda could represent a viable resource for globally competitive production of mint essential oils. This project aims to develop novel mint varieties for cultivation in Uganda to produce high yields of essential oils containing menthol or nepetalactone which will be used to develop locally-produced products for the benefit of the rural Ugandan economy.This application, involving partnerships between Cardiff (Wales) and Makerere (Uganda) Universities, seeks to maximise the production of selected essential oils using two parallel strategies. Firstly, we will screen a range of mint varieties to identify those with naturally high yields of menthol or nepetalactone using biochemical analysis (chromatography) of extracted oils, and those with the largest abundance of oil-bearing glandular leaf hairs (trichomes) by microscopic analysis of the leaf surface. The second strategy will be to manipulate key genes involved in the biosynthesis of essential oils in the leaf, with the aim of creating new 'elite' mint varieties by up-regulating the production of menthol. Such genetic modifications are feasible, due to recent advances in scientific understanding of the biochemical pathway leading to menthol production in mint oil. The most promising mint varieties will be selected for subsequent field trials to determine their viability for growth under potentially conditions of water availability, shading and soil type, in three regions of Uganda.Together with our partners in Uganda, we will create local Community Enterprise (CE) groups to propagate and distribute plant material to farmers, and provide the necessary training to cultivate/harvest the crop, ensuring agricultural best practice. In turn, this will improve local systems of agricultural production, harvesting and extraction technology and result in substantive up-skilling of the local rural population. In addition, we will devise agro-economic models of mint crop production, and develop business plans and marketing strategies to guide emerging local business ventures. This project will ensure that sustainable financial benefits accrue principally to local communities in Uganda, via CE groups set up to grow, harvest and exploit new mint crops. The project will explore the development of products for sale in collaboration with local-based partners, enabling rural populations in Uganda to benefit sustainably from science-based enhanced production of mint essential oils.