Peppermint Essential Oil:
              Profile of a Powerful Plant

           Are Christmas candy canes still lingering around your house?  Many of us are still enjoying these stocking stuffers that have the sweet, fresh peppermint taste that is such a part of the holiday time.  Mention peppermint, and many people instantly think of candy canes or those delightful after-dinner mints.  But peppermint is, as many of you know, a powerful essential oil.

            A cyber-stroll through the National Library of Medicine (PubMed) turns up just under one hundred abstracts of scientific studies on peppermint essential oil. These studies resulted in fascinating conclusions about this remarkable oil.

Surprising Effects

            Peppermint oil applied topically for tension-type headaches was studied in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study at Christian Albrechts University in Germany (Badia et al., 1990).  The conclusion?  “Peppermint oil seems to be a harmless and effective treatment for tension-type headaches.”  University of Kiel researchers also found that peppermint oil and a mixture of peppermint and eucalyptus oil reduced headaches.  The same study showed peppermint to be effective in reducing emotional irritation, depression, and apathy (inactivity).

            Research published in 2001 in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Physiology found that inhalation of peppermint increased athletic performance in humans.  Volunteer runners finished the 400-meter dash faster, had significant strength (determined by handgrip), and could complete more pushups after inhaling peppermint oil (Raudenbush, 2001).

Peppermint at School and at the Office

            Brainiacs take heart- peppermint is not just for the athletically inclined.  A 2003 study conducted at Wheeling Jesuit University found that peppermint improved clerical productivity.  Participants showed marked improvement in a card-sorting task as well as in typing accuracy and typing speed.  The researchers concluded: “These results suggest peppermint odor may promote a general arousal of attention, so participants stay focused on their task and increase performance.”

Glutathione Declines Reversed

            A 2003 study published in the Journal of Radiation Research found that ingesting peppermint oil reversed declines in glutathione caused by treatment with gamma radiation.  Glutathione is the most important antioxidant and detoxification enzyme in the liver.  In this study, peppermint essential oil reduced levels of oxidized (or rancid) fats in the tissues caused by radiation damage.  (While you will not encounter this kind of radiation in normal life, the study showed that peppermint had antioxidant-protecting properties.)  A 2004 follow-up study in Phytotherapy Research confirmed these findings.

Don’t Forget the Tummy!

            The word “dyspeptic” covers a multitude of gastrointestinal complaints.  Researchers at Epson General Hospital in England wrote: “Peppermint (Mentha piperita) is usually taken after a meal for its ability to reduce indigestion and colonic spasms by reducing the gastrolic reflex.”  But, they continued, “Less well recognized is peppermint’s potential role in the management of numerous other medical conditions including certain procedures, e.g., colonoscopy.”  At least two studies support this use of peppermint’s innate ability to control spasms.

            For a small child who may have a tummy ache, an expectant mom experiencing morning sickness, or a person with “non-ulcer dyspepsia,” peppermint is a traditional help.  Researchers at the University of Exeter’s Department of Complementary Medicine looked at seventeen clinical trials, including nine studies involving peppermint and caraway as constituents of herbal medicine products, and reported that 60-95 percent of patients reported improvements in symptoms.

            Doles peppermint kill germs?  Absolutely.  Peppermint has antioxidant properties to boot.  And peppermint oil has been tested for safety in one study which noted only “isolated clinical cases of irritation and/or sensitization” and concluded “peppermint oil was not a sensitizer when tested using maximization protocol.”  Celebrate the many benefits of this wonderful, invigorating essential oil!

Have you tried the pungently fragrant essential oil of peppermint? 
This refreshing and soothing essential oil has a number of uses!

• Known for generations to soothe upset or queasy tummies, a drop or so of peppermint in water or tea aids in digestion.
• Peppermint feels warm and wonderful on an exercise-stressed muscle or joint.
• Feeling sluggish and sleepy at work?  A study showed that inhaling peppermint oil increased mental accuracy by 28 percent.
• Alan Hirsh, M.D., found that peppermint stimulated the brain’s satiety center and was useful in cubing appetite.