Peppermint Oil (Mentha Piperita)

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Peppermint Oil (Mentha Piperita)

• Abeer Khattab-History
• Jennifer Hadra-Chemistry
• Amanda Trudeau-Research History

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Peppermint Mentha piperita

• Family Name Labiatae
• Other Name Mentha
• It is an aromatic herbaceous plant of the mint
  family
• Distribution Originated in Europe and early
  English colonists brought it to North America
• It is also grown in England, Russia, and other
  European countries, where it become a very common
  plant.

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Description of Peppermint Plant

• Leaf Opposite, stems are square in across
  section, oval looking smooth and sharply pointed,
  evenly toothed, dark green, slightly rough
  underneath .
• Flower Small and pale purple, born on leafless
  terminal spikes in loose disconnected whorls.

• Fruit and Bark None .
• Form Grows 1- 3 feet, plant grows best in dark,
  moist soil, related to spearmint.

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Essential Oils of Peppermint

• It is the source of essential oils which are
  monoterpene, mainly synthesized in leaves, the
  first step in plastids by (4S)- Limonene synthase
  enzyme, but the succeeding steps occur outside
  the leucoplasts of oil gland cells.
• The principal constituent of peppermint oil is
  Menthol (C10 H19 OH) which is white crystalline
  substance, has the peppermint odor and produces a
  sensation of cold in the mouth ---why?

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Essential Oils of Peppermint

• Dr. David Juliuss lab at the University of
  California, San Francisco, discovered that
  menthol activates cold receptors in our tissues
  called CMR1 receptors.
• They have the same structure and way of working
  like VR1 receptors for sensation of cold and heat
  (menthol and capsaicin).

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History of Peppermint Use

• Peppermint was cultivated by the ancient
  Egyptians and used by the Greek and Roman cooks
  as a flavoring for wines and sauces.
• Some Asian countries have cultivated mint since
  ancient times.
• It has been used in Europe and western medicine
  for a variety of ailments including toothaches,
  morning sickness and cramping.
• It was brought to the U.S.A. early in the 19th
  century.

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History of Peppermint Use (Contd.)

• These plants were the foundation of what are
  today the largest peppermint centers in the world
  like the northeastern united states.
• Now practically the Midwestern states of
  Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin, all
  decreasing production.
• The far western states of Oregon, and Washington
  are now the major of American peppermint oil.
• Peppermint oil is used as a flavoring agent in
  pharmaceuticals, elixirs, food, and beverages
  especially chewing gum and candy, there is some
  use as a fragrance.

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Cezanne, Paul

• Still life with Peppermint bottle
• 1890 94, Oil on canvas, national Gallery of Art
  Washington, D . C.
• One of the most original of Cezannes still life
  

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Products and Uses of Peppermint

• Used in Middle eastern salad called tabbouleh
  combined with parsley giving it the delicious
  taste due to its delightful flavor.
• Leaves of Peppermint used for flavoring tea added
  directly green or dried produced as packages
  called Peppermint tea which could be used
  separately as a hot drink like tea, Native

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Products and Uses of Peppermint

• Peppermint oil is most popular for flavoring
  candy, to give medicines, mouthwashes, and
  toothpaste a good taste, also used newly as lip
  balm recipe, it is the first aid for toothache
  being antiseptic and possessing a local
  anesthetic effect

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Products and Uses of Peppermint

• Peppermint oil is also a soothing remedy for
  colds and flu.
• Fresh crushed leaves can be applied locally to
  
  relieve pain, in paths
  it can be used to relieve rheumatic and muscle
  pains.
• It is well known for its digestive properties,
  used to relieve indigestion, wind, colic, nausea,
  diarrhea,and Crohns disease, stomach ulcers and
  ulcerative colitis.

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Major Compound Menthol
Compounds from the peppermint plant are extracted
from the leaves. Peppermint has a wide variety
of uses. Some of those include   Flavorings
water, toothpaste, teas etc. Common
cold Candies Bronchitis Aromatherapy Sinus
Antacid/Anti-nausea tablets Fever Genetic
Engineering Vomiting  
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Peppermint Plant
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Menthol
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Medical Uses/Dosage/Side Effects
Common cold Antispasmodic agent Bronchitis Incre
ase Esophageal Acid Clearance Sinus Fever Vomiting
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At this time dosage amounts are unclear. Several
studies were reviewed and concluded that there
were no reported side effects or tissue damage
with the use of peppermint
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Mode of Action

• In hospital studies where peppermint oil was used
  as an antispasmatic is believed to act on
  beta-adrenergic receptors and uses a G-coupled
  protein pathway.
• (This is currently a hypothesis, no formal study
  has actually concluded in the exact pathway of
  peppermint as an antispasmatic.)

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Mode of Action

• Other studies that used peppermint as an antacid
  concluded that using peppermint in the form of an
  oral lozenge increased swallowing rate, which in
  turn increased esophageal acid clearance.

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Research History

• Treatment for
• Postoperative nausea
• Headache
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Dyspepsia

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Other Studies

• Cosmetic Use
• Use with other substances
• Caraway oil
• Eucalyptus oil

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Postoperative Nausea

• Study in UK
• Hypothesis
• Inhalation of peppermint oil will affect
  incidence and severity of gynecological surgical
  patients
• Outcome Incidence of Nausea
• Control Group-100
• Placebo Group-100
• Experimental Group-67

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Headache

• Germany
• Double Blind Study
• 32 healthy subjects
• Combinations of
• Peppermint oil Eucalyptus Oil
• Significant reduction of EMG surface activity of
  temporal muscle

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome

• United States (2000)
• Women 14-24
• Men 5-19
• 3x more likely to miss work

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome

• Randomized Clinical Trials
• Studies Showed Improvement in
• Abdominal pain
• Stool frequency
• Flatulence

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Dyspepsia

• Dyspepsia, which means "bad" (dys) "digestion"
  (pepsia)
• Term used by doctors to describe a set of
  symptoms which are believed to have their cause
  somewhere in the upper part of the
  gastro-intestinal tract 

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Dyspepsia

• Pain intensity reduced 40
• Pressure reduced 43
• Placebo Reduction in both 22

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Cosmetics

• Peppermint oil in 102 products
• Bath oils
• Hair conditioners
• Lipstick
• Makeup Base
• Shaving Cream
• Soaps
• Nail Creams

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Cosmetics

• Mostly performed on rats, mice, bacteria, and
  dogs
• Oral Toxicity
• Immunotoxicity
• Dermal Irritation
• Reproductive Toxicity
• Carcinogenicity

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Safety

• No significant side effects
• Safe to use in products
• Pulegone-component found in peppermint oil may be
  an irritant