PARTE UTILIZADA= Used part: Hojas y sumidades floridas desecadas.

ACCIÓN FARMACOLÓGICA= Pharmacological action: Eupéptico, antiespasmódico, para combatir el cólera, insecticida.

COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA= Chemical composition: El aceite esencial contiene (-)-beta pineno, (-)-limoneno, (-) mentona, pulegona, (+) –isomentona, ácido piperínico, gama-pineno, 1-8-cineol y carvona.

ZONA GEOGRÁFICA= Geografical zone: zonas templadas y soleadas de Sudamérica. 

DIVERSIDAD GENÉTICA Y MEJORAMIENTO DE PLANTAS MEDICINALES= Medicinal plants and improvement of medicinal herbs
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Minthostachys (Benth.) Spach (Labiatae) is a South American genus of aromatic shrubs frequently collected as a condiment, for the preparation of tea, or for medicinal purposes. Notoriously difficult species delimitation, conflicting taxonomic treatments of the past, and the lack of a revision with modern methods have hampered the understanding of this ecologically and economically interesting group. The amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) study presented in this paper supplements field and morphological studies within the framework of a taxonomic and systematic revision. AFLP is found to be unsuitable for the reconstruction of the phylogeny of Minthostachys. Although, in some cases, morphologically well-defined species are also genetically distinct, extensive gene flow seems to occur between strikingly different species growing in the immediate vicinity and even between Minthostachys and Clinopodium (Xenopoma) vanum. Samples from the most complicated species, M. mollis, are genetically very heterogeneous and mostly fall into two clusters according to their geographical origin, exhibiting a high discrepancy with the pattern of morphological variation. © 2007 The Linnean Society of London.

Summary
Peperina (Minthostachys mollis – Lamiaceae) is a common herb that grows in the temperate regions of South America. In Argentina peperina can be found in the areas of Cordoba and to a lesser extend in the Northwestern region. The infusion of the leaves and flowers is used as a eupeptic, antispasmodic and antidiarrheic agent, and in other parts of the continent as a digestive and antimicrobial agent, this latter activity mostly due to the particular composition of the essential oil. To date, most pharmacological studies have focused on the antimicrobial, antiviral, digestive and insecticidal properties of the extracts and the essential oil.

1) ALONSO, Jorge ; DESMARCHELIER, Cristian.-- Plantas medicinales autóctonas de la Argentina : bases científicas para su aplicación en atención primaria de la salud.-- Buenos Aires: L.O.L.A, 2005, pp.417-421.

2) 270 (doscientos setenta) plantas medicinales iberoamericanas.-- Santiago de Bogotá : CYTED-SECAB, 1995, pp.318-319.

3) SCHMIDT-LEBUHN, A.N. Using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) to unravel species relationships and delimitations in Minthostachys (Labiatae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 2007, vol.153, nº1, p.9-19.

4) Plantas medicinales autóctonas de la Argentina. Bases científicas para su aplicación en atención primaria de la salud / Jorge Alonso y Cristian Jorge Desmarchelier. - 1a ed. - Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires: Corpus Libros Médicos y Científicos, 2015.