Three controlled crosses were carried out involving Mentha arvensis and Mentha spicata [M. spicata CIMAP/C30 x M. spicata CIMAP/C33 (cv. Neera); M. arvensis CIMAP/C18 x CIMAP/C17 (cv. Kalka); and M. arvensis CIMAP/C17 x M. spicata CIMAP/C33]. The parents were subjected to random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis with 80 primers, and polymorphic primers were tested for detecting coinherited RAPD profiles among the progeny of these crosses. Of 50 seedlings tested from each intraspecific cross, all demonstrated dominant profiles with the selected RAPD primers except the detected hybrid from respective crosses. Coinherited markers could be detected with the primers OPJ 01, MAP 06, OPT 08, and OPO 20 for M. arvensis; OPJ 05, OPJ 14, OPO 19, and OPT 09 for M. spicata; and OPJ 07, OPJ 10, OPJ 11, OPJ 14, and OPO 02 for the cross M. arvensis x M. spicata. In our amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis, 40 coinherited marker fragments were identified for the cross involving M. arvensis, 32 for the cross involving M. spicata, and 41 for the interspecific cross between M. arvensis and M. spicata. In all crosses, similarity values between the parents were less than those between the parents and the hybrids. Although RAPD markers are generally considered dominant, it is possible to identify a few codominant markers that behave like restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) markers. This molecular marker system may be helpful in rapidly screening out hybrids in crops where cross-pollination is a problem.

The chemical composition of essential oils isolated from six different cultivars of corn mint grown at CIMAP Field Station, Pantnagar, were compared: menthol (77.5-89.3%) was the main constituent of all the cultivars, followed by menthone (0.3-7.9%) and isomenthone (3.7-6.1%). The oil of MAS-1 cultivar contained the highest concentration of menthol (89.3%) but the lowest percentage of menthone (0.3%), while isomenthone was not detected. Although the compositions of the six oils were similar, quantitative differences in the concentration of some constituents was observed. Yield and quality appraisals in the study led to the identification of the cultivars Kosi, Himalaya and Damroo as the most potent genotypes for maintaining mint crop diversity and productivity stability.

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The essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation of the fresh leaves of Curcuma longa L. (Zingiberaceae), growing in the Research farm of the Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants field station Pant Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, India, was investigated by GC and GC-MS. Twenty compounds were identified, accounting for 72% of the contents. The oil of C. longa consisted mainly of monoterpenoids; monoterpene hydrocarbons (57%), oxygenated monoterpenes (10%), sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (3.3%) and oxygenated sesquiterpenes (2.1%). The major constituents of the oil were p-cymene (25.4%) and 1,8-cineole (18%), followed by cis-sabinol (7.4%) andˇ-pinene (6.3%).

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