Industrial mint crop revolution, new opportunities, and novel cultivation ambitions: A review

Future R&D initiatives must be strengthened in light of establishing biotechnological tools and comprehending secondary metabolic pathways to build designer chemotypes of mint that can generate desirable essential oil components for commercial exploitation. There is a need to find chemotypes with metabolic blockages in essential oil production pathways that can accumulate specific essential oil components not generally found in the wild through ongoing breeding efforts and research of wild mint germplasm. To help traditional marginal farmers succeed economically, cultivars resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses might be introduced in newer agro-climatic zones. While better comprehending the biological actions of essential oil components, a new area for investigating new applications of essential oils needs to be explored. Menthol mint cultivars (Shivalik, Kosi, CIM-Kranti, and CIM-Unnati) are grown on more than 200,000 ha in Indian states, producing 25,000–28,00 tonnes of essential oil annually. Mints, including different species, hybrids, and high-yielding varieties, are grown worldwide. Mint species contain antioxidants, phenols, anthraquinones, tannins, other phytochemicals, and essential oil. However, China, Japan, North Korea, India, Paraguay, Thailand, Taiwan, and Vietnam are the most significant producers and exporters of menthol mint, followed by the United States, India, and China. Owing to the crop's rich medicinal and aromatic properties and the significant demand for essential oil and its value-added products on a national and worldwide scale, the later developments and advancements of the mint crop are currently more cost-effective. The market for mint oil and its related products is expected to grow by 3–5% annually while further research is needed to develop genetic advancements.