Mentha arvensis. M. haplocalyx- 薄 荷   Bó hé  Peppermint, Field Mint  Family: Labiatae
PART USED: Stalk and leaf- harvested in early Summer and early Autumn  
Nature: Cool     FLAVOR: Pungent, Acrid, Aromatic  CHANNEL: Lung, Liver
FUNCTIONS
GROUP: Exterior Clearing- Cooling
1. Clear Wind Heat.[1,2,3,4,5,6] Clear away Heat from head and eyes.[6] Disperse Wind.[5] Relieve sore throat.[6] Contracts blood and mucous flow to throat- for swelling pains in throat.[5]
2. Vents rashes.[6] Promoting skin eruptions and relieving itching. Clears fevers, promotes perspiration and measles rash appearance.[1] Reduces swelling and relieves itching.[1,5]
3. Disperse constrained Liver Qi.[6] Flaring up of pathogenic Fire showing as sore swollen throat, headache, conjunctival congestion.
4. Counteract toxic effects. Improving eyesight.
5. Expels flatulence.[1]
ACTIONS
INDICATIONS- Assistant herb
1. Exopathic Wind Heat:[5,6] with fever, headache and cough.[6] Upper respiratory tract infection, headache, red eyes,[5,6] painful dry throat.[3,5,6] Early stage of febrile diseases. Influenza, headache.[1,3] Cough.[1] Conjunctivitis.[1] Pharyngitis.[1]
2. Incomplete measles eruption.[1] Early stage of eruptive diseases and urticaria. Pruritus.[1] Canker (mouth ulcer),[3] ulcers, scabies. Skin eruptions.[3] Urticaria, nettle rash, early stage of measles. Ulcer on tongue. Measles, in the early stage to induce the rash to come to the surface.[6]
3. Early stage of seasonal Fever:[5] showing as mild chilliness, anhidrosis, headache and general aching. Dizziness, red painful urine caused by Summer Heat.
4. Liver Qi stagnation with pressure in the chest or flanks, emotional instability, and gynecological problems.[6]
5. Indigestion.[3] Toothache.
6. Stagnation of Phlegm leading to nausea.[5] Beriberi, edema.[1]
7. Epistaxis.[5] Pain in ears.
CONTRAINDICATIONS: Lung deficiency Cough.[5] Yin deficiency fever.[5] Not recommended for nursing mothers as this herb may lead to insufficient lactation.[5,6] Yin deficiency,[2,6] with Heat signs:[6] dryness of Blood, Liver Yang upsurging, abundant perspiration, diabetes.[2]  Exterior deficiency,[6] with spontaneous sweating.[4] Excess blood loss.[5] Boils, abcessess, ulcers.[5]
PATENT COMBINATIONS
COMBINATIONS
PREPARATIONS: Decoction  2-6 g.[2,5,6] Always add to decoction 5 min before finishing since it is a diaphoretic herb.[5,6] Good qualitiy is dry, green, and fragrant, and has no roots.[6]
Whole plant.[1]  Branch and leaf [4] 2-10 g.[1,4]  Boil for a very short time, or infused. Fresh juice can be used for nose drops or ear drops.[2] For external use, the fresh herb may be decocted, and fluid used for bathing affected parts.[1,5] 
Mentha haplocalyx  薄 荷 油 Bò hé yóu   Peppermint oil    
As the main component of Peppermint is the essential oil, it is useful and cost effective to use small doses of this oil.[2]
FUNCTIONS
1. Aromatic herb, seasoning, and carminative.[2]
INDICATIONS
1. Used externally in a proportion up to 50% in liniments as a rubefacient oil (draws circulation into an area), usually mixed with other essential oils and carrier oil.[2]
2. Used by manufacturers in peppermint digestive calminatives.[2]
PREPARATIONS: Oil  0.02-0.2 ml each time.[2]
Peppermint essence (BP1973)- made from 10% peppermint oil added to water- dosage 5-10 drops to alleviate symptoms of nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain .
HABITAT: Mostly cultivated.
DESCRIPTION: Perennial herb. Whole plant emits strong aroma. Stem: oblong, multibranching. Leaves; opposite, ovate-rounded to oblong-rounded ovate, apexes acute, bases broadly cuneate, margins serrated. Flowers: in autumn, purple, pink or white axillary flowers forming verticillate inflorescences. Nuts: small, 4.
References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Constituents
Research
Peppermint oil- Local applications of menthol (a type of peppermint oil) are effective for headache, neuralgia, and itching. When mentol is used, the skin feels cool sensations followed by light burning sensations. The cool sensations induced by mentol are not cuased by a lowering of skin temperature but rather by the cold receptor of the nerve endings.[3]

Influence of the leaf extract of Mentha arvensis Linn. (mint) on the survival of mice exposed to different doses of gamma radiation.
Jagetia GC, Baliga MS.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the radioprotective effect of Mentha arvensis (mint) on the survival of mice exposed to various doses of whole-body gamma radiation.
MATERIAL AND METHODS:
The radioprotective effect of various doses (0, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg body weight) of chloroform extract of mint (Mentha arvensis Linn.) was studied in mice exposed to 10 Gy gamma radiation.
RESULTS:
The 10 mg/kg of mint extract was found to afford best protection as evidenced by the highest number of survivors in this group at 30 days post-irradiation, and further experiments were carried out using this dose of mint extract. The mice treated with 10 mg/kg body weight mint extract or oil were exposed to 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 Gy of gamma radiation and observed for the induction of radiation-sickness and mortality up to 30 days post-irradiation. The mint extract pretreatment was found to reduce the severity of symptoms of radiation sickness and mortality at all exposure doses and a significant increase in the animal survival was observed when compared with the oil + irradiation group. All of the animals that were treated with 10 mg/kg mint extract and then exposed to 7 Gy irradiation were protected against the radiation-induced mortality when compared with the concurrent oil + irradiation group, in which 20% animals died by 30 days post-irradiation. The mint extract treatment protected the mice against the gastrointestinal death as well as bone marrow deaths. The DRF was found to be 1.2. The drug was non-toxic up to a dose of 1,000 mg/kg body weight, the highest drug dose that could be tested for acute toxicity.
CONCLUSION:
From our study it is clear that mint extract provides protection against the radiation-induced sickness and mortality and the optimum protective dose of 10 mg/kg is safe from the point of drug-induced toxicity.
Strahlenther Onkol. 2002 Feb;178(2):91-8. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Corn mint (Mentha arvensis) extract diminishes acute Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in vitro and in vivo.
Salin O, Törmäkangas L, Leinonen M, Saario E, Hagström M, Ketola RA, Saikku P, Vuorela H, Vuorela PM.
Abstract
Corn mint ( Mentha arvensis ) provides a good source of natural phenols such as flavone glycosides and caffeic acid derivatives, which may have prophylactic properties against inflammations. This study investigated whether corn mint extract would be beneficial against a universal respiratory tract pathogen, Chlamydia pneumoniae , infection. The extract inhibited the growth of C. pneumoniae CWL-029 in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. The inhibition was confirmed against a clinical isolate K7. The phenolic composition of the extract was analyzed by UPLC-ESI/Q-TOF/MS, the main components being linarin and rosmarinic acid. These compounds were active in vitro against C. pneumoniae. Linarin completely inhibited the growth at 100 μM. Inbred C57BL/6J mice were inoculated with C. pneumoniae K7. M. arvensis extract was given intraperitoneally once daily for 3 days prior to inoculation and continued for 10 days postinfection. The extract was able to diminish the inflammatory parameters related to C. pneumoniae infection and significantly (p = 0.019) lowered the number of C. pneumoniae genome equivalents detected by PCR at biologically relevant amounts.
PMID: 22073967 DOI: 10.1021/jf2032473
 J Agric Food Chem. 2011 Dec 28;59(24):12836-42. doi: 10.1021/jf2032473. Epub 2011 Nov 22. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Aminoglycosides of Methicillin - Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
HENRIQUE D.M. COUTINHO, JOSÉ G.M. COSTA, EDELTRUDES O. LIMA, VIVYANNE S. FALCÃO - SILVA and JOSÉ P. SIQUEIRA-JÚNIOR
ns
Background: This is the first report testing the antibiotic resistance-modifying activity of Mentha arvensis against MRSA (methicillin - resistant Staphylococcus aureus). Materials and Methods: In this study an ethanol extract of Mentha arvensis L. and chlorpromazine were tested for their antimicrobial activity alone or in combination with conventional antibiotics against MRSA strains. Results: A potentiating effect of this extract on gentamicin, kanamycin and neomycin was demonstrated. Similarly, a potentiating effect of chlorpromazine on the same aminoglycosides was observed, indicating the involvement of an efflux system in the resistance to these antibiotics. Conclusion: It is therefore suggested that extracts from M. arvensis could be used as a source of plant-derived natural products with resistance-modifying activity, such as in the case of aminoglycosides, constituting a new weapon against bacterial resistance to antibiotics, as with chlorpromazine.
iv.iiarjournals.org