Peppermint Extracts

Originates from family of Lamiaceae. It is an aromatic perennial herb, with 10-80cm of height. It has erect, square and branched stems with creeping roots. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs from oblong to lanceolate, often downy with serrated margin. The flowers are arranged in axillary clusters (cymes), which form separate whorls or are crowded together into a terminal spike; there are 10 veins and 5 toothlike lobes; the corolla is usually greenish purple, pink or white color. It has 4 lobes with 2 bigger upper lobes and encloses 4 stamens. The nut is oval/elliptical shape. Flowering takes 8-10 months; maturation period takes 9-11 months. It is widely grown in Jiang Su, He Nan, An Hui, Jiang Xi.

Nutritional ingredients

Medicinal effects

“Compendium of Materia Medica” stated that Peppermint has pungent taste, cool nature, non-toxic, has functions of promoting perspiration, dissipating heat, dispelling wind, relieving itchiness and etc. It can be eaten raw or cooked, to eliminate kidney-qi toxin, fatigue and refresh breath. Decoction can be used to treat knee ulcer and also promote expectoration and eliminate all kinds of winds. Besides, its juice can be used to remove heat of the heart and oral diseases. It is pounded into juice as gargle to remove tongue coating; its leaves can be used for nose packing to stop nose bleeding; topical application can be used for treatment of bee sting and snake bite. An ancient medical book of China “Shi Yi Xin Jing” also stated that peppermint can be used to make soup, tonic or tea, or even eaten raw. It has more advantages than vegetables.

Internal use of peppermint oil can dilate skin capillaries through excitation of central nervous system, promote secretion of sweat glands and heat dissipation through perspiration. Peppermint oil is able to inhibit contraction of gastrointestinal smooth muscles, antagozine acetylcholine to produce anti-conclusive effect; pepper oil has therapeutic effect on respiratory inflammations by promoting glandular secretion of respiratory tract. External trial decoction of peppermint has inhibiting effect on simple herpes virus, forest virus, mumps virus; Staphylococcus aureus,  Staphylococcus album, Group A Streptococcus, Group B Streptococcus, catarrh coccus, enteritis coccus, Shigella flexneri, bacillus anthraci, Corynebacterium diptheriae, salmonella typhi, pseudomonas aeruginosa, E coli etc; external use of peppermint can stimulate cold receptors of never endings to produce cold sensation, as well as reflectively causes change in blood vessels of tissues of deeper part to achieve anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipruritic effects.