Biospectrum Horizons: A Journal of Life Science Research (JASLSRI)

e-ISSN: 3139-1524 • CC BY 4.0

Register Login
Biospectrum Horizons: A Journal of Life Science Research / Biological & Molecular Sciences / Vol. 1, No. 1 (2025) / pp. 13-30
Open Access • CC BY 4.0

Application of Smoke-saturated water boosts physiology and essential oil yield in Mentha arvensis L.

Sarika Singh 1*
Sangram Singh 2
Aman Sobia Chishti 3
Urooj Hassan Bhat 4
Moin Uddin 5
M. Masroor A. Khan 6
Priyanka Singh 7

1 Plant Physiology SectionDepartment of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India (*Corresponding author: sarasingh6494@gmail.com)

2 Plant Physiology SectionDepartment of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India

3 Plant Physiology SectionDepartment of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India

4 Plant Physiology SectionDepartment of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India

5 Botany Section, Women’s College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India

6 Plant Physiology SectionDepartment of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India

7 Department of Botany, Government Degree College, Budaun 243601, India

Published on: December 15, 2025 • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19676212 • Peer-Reviewed Open Access

Abstract

Some smoke-based compounds were also confirmed to influence a variety of physiological and developmental processes in plants. In this study, the influence of SSW (smoke-saturated water) using rhizome soaking and foliar spraying on growth and physiological, biochemical characteristics, glandular trichome, and final essential oil yield of Mentha arvensis L., a key economically important aromatic plant is investigated. Healthy rhizomes were immersed in SSW at 1:125 v/v, 1:250 v/v, 1:500 v/v and 1:1000 v/v for 24 h prior to planting, and at different concentrations of foliar treatments during crop growth. Both application strategies greatly improved plant height, biomass accumulation, leaf area, and leaf yield in plants treated with SSW at a dilution of 1:500 (v/v) compared with untreated controls. Increased chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, photosystem II efficiency, and levels of chlorophyll, carotenoids revealed enhanced photosynthetic performance. Moreover, SSW applied significant increases in the activities of the major metabolic enzymes namely nitrate reductase and carbonic anhydrase. SSW treatment induced accumulation of phenolics and flavonoids as well as marked enlargement of glandular trichomes. These physiological and biochemical benefits were characterized up to a remarkable increase in essential oil content and productivity, with higher concentrations of major molecules, i.e., menthol, menthone and menthyl acetate. In general, the results indicated that the optimal use of smoke-saturated water application of 1:500 (v/v) dilution of it (especially with optimum effectiveness) will be an eco-considerate treatment for enhancing growth performance in Mentha arvensis L. and essential oil yield and efficacy in Mentha arvensis L.
Keywords: Smoke-saturated water; Mentha arvensis L.; physiological responses; essential oil yield; secondary metabolites

References 26

Standard Academic Bibliography
[1]

Adams, R. P. (2007). Identification of essential oil components by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (4th ed.). Allured Publishing.

[2]

Akeel, A., Khan, M. M. A., Jaleel, H., & Uddin, M. (2019). Smoke-saturated water and karrikinolide modulate germination, growth, photosynthesis and nutritional values of carrot (Daucus carota L.). Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, 38(5), 1387–1401. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-019-09941-w PubMed

Crossref DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-019-09941-w
[3]

Brown, N. A. C., & Van Staden, J. (1997). Smoke as a germination cue: A review. Plant Growth Regulation, 22(2), 115-124.

[4]

Chang, C., Yang, M., Wen, H., & Chern, J. (2002). Estimation of total flavonoid content in natural products by a colorimetric method. Journal of Food and Drug Analysis, 10(3), 178–182.

[5]

Gershenzon, J., McConkey, M. E., & Croteau, R. (2000). Regulation of monoterpene accumulation in leaves of peppermint. Plant Physiology, 122(1), 205–214.

[6]

Gomez, K. A., & Gomez, A. A. (1984). Statistical procedures for agricultural research (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.

[7]

Jaworski, E. G. (1971). Nitrate reductase assay in intact plant tissues. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 43(6), 1274–1279.

[8]

Keeley, J. E., & Fotheringham, C. J. (1998). Smoke-induced seed germination in California chaparral. Ecology, 79(7), 2320–2336. https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(1998)079[2320:SISGIC]2.0.CO;2 journal.uni-mate.hu

Crossref DOI: https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(1998)079[2320:SISGIC]2.0.CO
[9]

Kulkarni, M. G., Light, M. E., & Van Staden, J. (2011). Plant-derived smoke: Old technology with possibilities for economic applications in agriculture and horticulture. South African Journal of Botany, 77(4), 972–979. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2011.08.006

Crossref DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2011.08.006
[10]

Lawrence, B. M. (2007). Mint: The genus Mentha. CRC Press.

[11]

Light, M. E., Daws, M. I., Van Staden, J., & Pritchard, H. W. (2009). Smoke-derived karrikinolide and glyceronitrile are synergistic in stimulating seed germination. Seed Science Research, 19(2), 157–162.

[12]

Lichtenthaler, H. K., & Wellburn, A. R. (1983). Determinations of total carotenoids and chlorophylls a and b of leaf extracts in different solvents. Biochemical Society Transactions, 11(5), 591–592.

[13]

Maxwell, K., & Johnson, G. N. (2000). Chlorophyll fluorescence — A practical guide. Journal of Experimental Botany, 51(345), 659–668.

[14]

Nelson, D. C., Flematti, G. R., Ghisalberti, E. L., Dixon, K. W., & Smith, S. M. (2012). Regulation of seed germination and seedling growth by chemical signals from burning vegetation. Annual Review of Plant Biology, 63, 107–130. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-arplant-042811-105545

Crossref DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-arplant-042811-105545
[15]

Rady, M. M., Bhavya, V., & Howladar, S. M. (2013). Common bean seedlings grown under salinity stress respond to CaCl₂ application. Journal of Stress Physiology & Biochemistry, 9(3), 357–378.

[16]

Rehman, R. U., Shah, S. H., & Ahmad, J. (2018). Plant-derived smoke enhances growth and physiological attributes of crop plants. Journal of Plant Interactions, 13(1), 68–75.

[17]

Singh, M., Pandey, R. K., Singh, V. P., & Singh, D. V. (2015). Menthol mint cultivation in India: A success story. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 85(7), 897–904.

[18]

Singleton, V. L., & Rossi, J. A. (1965). Colorimetry of total phenolics with phosphomolybdic-phosphotungstic acid reagents. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, 16(3), 144–158.

[19]

Soltanbeigi, A., Özgüven, M., & Hassanpouraghdam, M. B. (2021). Planting date and cutting time affect the growth and essential oil composition of Mentha piperita and Mentha arvensis. Industrial Crops and Products, 170, Article 113790. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2021.113790

Crossref DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2021.113790
[20]

Taiz, L., Zeiger, E., Møller, I. M., & Murphy, A. (2015). Plant physiology and development (6th ed.). Sinauer Associates.

[21]

Tafrihi, M., Imran, M., Tufail, T., Gondal, T. A., Caruso, G., Sharma, S., … Rauf, A. (2021). Menthol-based therapeutic agents: A review. Phytotherapy Research, 35(1), 123–140.

[22]

Tiwari, R. (2016). Glandular trichomes: Structure, function and role in plant defense. Journal of Applied and Natural Science, 8(4), 1363–1370.

[23]

Van Staden, J., Jäger, A. K., Light, M. E., & Burger, B. V. (2004). Isolation of the major germination cue from plant-derived smoke. South African Journal of Botany, 70(4), 654–659.

[24]

Van Staden, J., Brown, N. A. C., Jäger, A. K., & Johnson, T. A. (2000). Smoke as a germination cue. Plant Species Biology, 15(2), 167–178.

[25]

Verma, R. S., Rahman, L., Verma, R. K., Chauhan, A., Yadav, A., Singh, A., … Khanuja, S. P. S. (2010). Essential oil composition and antioxidant activity of Mentha arvensis L. Industrial Crops and Products, 32(3), 577–582.

[26]

Werker, E. (2000). Trichome diversity and development. Advances in Botanical Research, 31, 1–35.

Metrics & Impact Live Stats

Article-Level Performance
2 Article Views
1 PDF Downloads
0 Crossref Citations
12 Altmetric Score

COUNTER Code of Practice Compliance

Usage metrics conform to COUNTER Release 5 standard reporting protocols, filtering out automated crawlers, bots, and rapid consecutive refresh requests.

Reader Options

Download PDF Galley

How to Cite

Singh, S., Singh, S., Chishti, A. S., Bhat, U. H., Uddin, M., Khan, M. M. A., & Singh, P. (2025). Application of Smoke-saturated water boosts physiology and essential oil yield in Mentha arvensis L. Biospectrum Horizons: A Journal of Life Science Research, 1(1), 13-30. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19676212
APA 7th Edition
More Citation Formats
Click any format to view & copy:
Download Citation

Share Article

Email Colleague ✉

License: CC BY 4.0

Published on: December 15, 2025

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19676212

Archival: Continuous Open Access