Peppermint

Other names: Balm mint, brandy mint, curled mint, lamb mint

Scientific name: Mentha piperita

Common names: Balm mint, Brandy mint, Curled min

Ayurvedic names: Phudina

Chinese names: Hu jiao bo he, Xiang hua cai; Lü bo he, Liu lan xiang (Mentha spicata); Bo he, Po ho (Mentha arvensis var. piperascens

Bangladesh names: Pudina 

Arabic names:    النعنع الفلفلي (an-na’ena’e al fulfuli)

RainForest names:

Family: Labiatae (mint)

Approximate number of species known:

Common parts used: Leaf, oil

Collection:

Annual/Perennial: Perennial

Height: Up to 50cm

Actions:  Carminative, anti-spasmodic, aromatic, diaphoretic, anti-emetic, nervine, analgesic, anti-catarrhal, anti-microbial, emmenagogue, rubefacient, stimulant, stomachic

Known Constituents: Oil including menthol (35-45%)7, menthone, jasmone, tannin

Constituents Explained:

Description: 

Has a very distinct smell.  The roots which connect underground give way to a stem which sometimes has a red or purple colour.  The leaves are opposite (picture), dark green, ovate or lanceolate (picture) that are serrated down the side with some hairs on top.

When the flowers grow they are light purple.  Grows best in cool, damp streams in lower altitudes.

Traditional Use:

A pleasant tasting herb that is famous for its use as a flavouring.  Peppermint is generally considered a hybrid between Mentha spicata (spearmint) and Mentha aquatica (water mint)

Like most pleasant tasting herbs it seems to soothe and ease digestion.  Its used to ease bloating, gas, burping and bad breath. Used as a digestive carminative, and to ease griping pain.  Used to relax muscles, and ease the digestive process. It can have a mild anesthetic effect on the stomach wall helpign to relieve nausea and vomiting.

Menthol is a component of Peppermint which is commonly used as a inhalant for the sinuses.  ???More about menthol.???

It has been used to prevent fainting and for dizziness.1

It was first grown in England in   check???? hybrid???

Its slight nervine effect can have a  pain relieving effect hence its used to relieve period pain.

Jethro Kloss used it with the intention of strengthening the heart, and in enemas for the colon.1

The diluted oil has been used externally on the skin for skin conditions., and for itching and inflammation

Externally it has been used for rhuematism and headache.1

Many people use it as an alternative to coffee.1

Tends to repel mice and rats.

Clinical Studies:

Herbal remedies, particularly peppermint, have been reported to be helpful in controlling symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study on 90 outpatients with IBS.

Subjects took one capsule of enteric-coated, delayed-release peppermint oil (Colpermin) or placebo three times daily for 8 weeks. Patients are visited after the first, fourth, and eighth weeks and evaluated their symptoms and quality of life.

The number of subjects free from abdominal pain or discomfort changed from 0 at week 0 to 14 at week 8 in the Colpermin group and from 0 to 6 in controls. The severity of abdominal pain was also reduced significantly in the Colpermin group as compared to controls. 

Furthermore, Colpermin significantly improved the quality of life. There was no significant adverse reaction. Colpermin is effective and safe as a therapeutic agent in patients with IBS suffering from abdominal pain or discomfort.

Sore nipples are common during lactation and remain the major reason for failing to establish successful breastfeeding. To formulate a peppermint gel and to evaluate its effect on the prevention of nipple crack associated with breast-feeding, a randomized double-blinded clinical trial comparing the above formulation with modified lanolin and a neutral ointment was carried out.

Two hundred and sixteen primiparous participants were assigned randomly to three groups. Each group applied only one of the above three preparations on both breasts for 14 days. 

Each group consisted of 72 primiparous mothers and was seen for a maximum of four follow-up visits within 14 days and a final visit at week 6. The rate of nipple and areola crack and pain was evaluated.

The study groups were comparable in mean age and route of delivery. Nipple crack were less in mothers who received peppermint gel than in those who received lanolin ointment or placebo. Relative risk of nipple crack in the lanolin group was higher than in the peppermint group.

Prophylactic peppermint gel in breastfeeding lactating women is associated with fewer nipple cracks and is more effective than lanolin and placebo. It could be recommended for preventing of nipple crack along with teaching better breastfeeding technique at the initiation of breastfeeding.

Reference:

Merat S, Khalil S, Mostajabi P, Ghorbani A, Ansari R, Malekzadeh R. “The Effect Of Enteric-Coated, Delayed-Release Peppermint Oil On Irritable Bowel Syndrome.” 2010 Mayhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19507027

Melli MS, Rashidi MR, Nokhoodchi A, Tagavi S, Fazardi L, Sadaghat K, Tahmasebi Z, Sheshvan MK. “A Randomized Trial Of Peppermint Gel, Lanolin Ointments, And Placebo Gel To Prevent Nipple Crack In Primiparous Breastfeeding Women.” 2007 September http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17767120