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Essential oils identification and productive parameters of mentha spicata grown in aquaponic systems and beds of seeding
Contextualization: It is widely known that agricultural production systems has been in a process of improvement, in order to become more efficient every day. The objective is to achieve the basic food demand in a smaller space. Aquaponics systems allow to increase the production of crops of commercial and nutritional interest in a small area, with a rational use of natural resources • Knowledge gap: In aquaponic systems, there are a few studies of essential oils in aromatic plants, focused on nutritionally and medicinally topics. Mint is one of the crops with the greatest potential in alternative medicine due to its multiple bioactive characteristics • Purpose: The present research evaluated the secondary metabolites present in essential oils of mint plants (M. spicata) from an aquaponic system with red tilapia (Oreochromis sp.), compared with a culture in a bed of seeding • Methodology: Three aquaponics systems (3m2) were implemented for planting plants and the same area in bed of seeding (9m2). Plant and fish growth measurements were conducted monthly. The water quality parameters were measured weekly: NAT, nitrite, nitrate, phosphates and pH. The extraction of essential oils was carried out by means of the steam drag method. The matrices obtained were characterized under a GC-MS model comparing the area and retention time of the compounds found in both culture systems • Results and conclusions: Samples extracted from aquaponic systems exhibited a higher diversity of compounds compared to the bed of seeding. The most abundant compound in both systems was mint-Furanone, being higher in the aquaponic systems. The mint grew considerably better in aquaponic systems, showing higher biomass, number of stems and productive parameters. This work has demonstrated that aquaponic systems have a greater diversity of compounds and better performance than traditional culture in bed of seeding.