Peppermint essential oil
- Type
- Essential oil
- Botanical name
- Mentha × piperita
The plant
Peppermint, Mentha × piperita, is a hybrid mint.[2] It is an upright perennial herb that spreads by underground stems and is grown as a culinary and medicinal herb.[3] The plants are all cultivated and are distilled when in full bloom.[2]
How the oil is made
The oil is steam-distilled from the fresh or partially dried flowering herb.[1][2] For most flavouring purposes the natural oil is then rectified, that is, distilled again; the rectified oil is almost colourless, free of "weedy" top notes and keeps better than the natural oil.[2]
Composition
Peppermint oil contains menthol.[4] Applied to the skin, the oil triggers a lasting cold sensation by stimulating the cold-sensitive nerves.[1] True peppermint oil also contains menthofuran, which does not occur in cornmint oil and is used to tell the two apart.[2]
Cornmint oil
The oil of cornmint, Mentha arvensis, is known in the United States as mint oil or cornmint oil, but in other parts of the world it is commonly called peppermint oil; true peppermint oil comes only from Mentha × piperita. Cornmint oil is so rich in menthol that it solidifies at room temperature, and it is mainly a starting material for menthol. Its scent is strong, fresh and somewhat bitter-sweet, rather like peppermint oil, and it is widely used to flavour sweets, toothpastes and mouthwashes.[2]
Scent and uses
Natural peppermint oil smells fresh, strong and somewhat grassy-minty, with a deep balsamic-sweet undertone and a clean, sweet dry-out; even the smell gives an impression of coolness. The cooling effect is the main reason for its very wide use in flavours, from sweets and chewing gum to toothpaste, mouth sprays and gargles. It is one of the largest and most important essential oils, yet it is hardly used in perfumery.[2]
Herbal medicine
Taken by mouth, peppermint oil is used to relieve minor belly cramps, flatulence and belly pain, especially in irritable bowel syndrome. Rubbed on the forehead and temples, it is used for mild headaches; clinical studies support both indications. Inhaled, sprayed in the mouth or applied to the chest, back or around the nostrils, it is traditionally used for cough and cold symptoms, and applied to the skin for local muscle pain and itching.[1]
The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) likewise reports that enteric-coated capsules of the oil may improve irritable bowel syndrome symptoms in adults, and that the oil applied to the skin might relieve tension headaches; the evidence is small.[4]
Health Canada's monograph covers only oral preparations: it lists traditional uses of the oil to aid digestion, to relieve indigestion with flatulence, and to relieve nausea and vomiting.[5] On indigestion the sources differ: NCCIH found no evidence that peppermint oil alone helps, and notes that it may make indigestion worse in some people.[4]
Safety
Peppermint oil medicines must not be given to children under 2 years, and with some forms not to older children either. Cold and cough preparations, for example, are not for children aged 2 to 11, and headache preparations are only for adults.[1] Menthol should not be inhaled by an infant or small child or put on their face, because it may affect their breathing.[4]
Taken by mouth, peppermint oil can cause heartburn, nausea, abdominal pain and dry mouth, and rarely allergic reactions. On the skin it can cause rashes and irritation.[4] The oil irritates the mucous membranes, the moist linings of the body.[6] Health Canada advises asking a doctor before taking the oil by mouth with a hiatus hernia or acid reflux.[5]
Products containing it
- 33 Herbs Essential Oil Blend (E 119)
- 33 Herbs Strong Essential Oil Blend (E 144)
- Blue Relief Massage Oil (E 139)
- Get Up! “Wind” Oil Blend (E 131)
- Hygeia Oil Blend (E 143)
- Mama Mia Aromatic Spray, Viva Plus (E 118)
- Peppermint Essential Oil (E 120)
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 European Medicines Agency, Menthae piperitae aetheroleum: herbal medicinal product. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Steffen Arctander, Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin, Elizabeth, NJ, 1960: Mentha Arvensis Oil; Peppermint Oil.
- ↑ North Carolina State University Extension, Mentha × piperita. Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, Peppermint Oil. Retrieved 8 November 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Health Canada, Peppermint – Mentha x piperita. Natural Health Product monograph, 27 February 2026.
- ↑ National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA), Safety. Retrieved 8 November 2026.