If you look up the scientific name of peppermint, you will see its Mentha × piperita. Spearmint ( Mentha spicata) is a species in the same plant genus ( Mentha). They look and taste similar, but these are two very different things. Aside from that, they look practically identical! How can you tell the difference? The leaves of spearmint connect directly to the stalk, while peppermint leaves have quarter-inch stem. Steam distillation and other refinement methods may be necessary to get them all out of the plant. To collect those, it might take more than simply soaking the leaves in alcohol. Just because McCormick (or Wilton, Starwest Botanicals, Simply Organic, or another brand) lists the oil in the ingredients, that doesn’t mean it’s all the same volatile oils found in the essential version. “Alcohol (89%), oil of peppermint, water”
#PEPPERMINT OIL MICE FULL#
Yes, small amounts of the oil will be present in it, but it was not designed for aromatherapy or the other things people use essential oils for.įor example, here are the full ingredients found in McCormick pure peppermint extract: You can’t use the extract instead of oil. Basically, it’s a bottle of alcohol with microscopic parts of the plant that have dissolved in it. The peppermint leaves and stems are soaked in an alcohol or other solvent and that’s what you are getting. Those are a flavoring agent intended for culinary purposes, such as baking desserts and making candies. The extracts sold at sold at supermarkets like Kroger, Walmart, Meijer, and Ralphs are not essential. On the other hand, this is something entirely different. How you make candy canes and flavored lattes is by using the extract, not the oil. There’s no difference, as they both mean the same thing. Peppermint oil is generally synonymous with peppermint essential oil. With peppermint essential oil, you are getting a highly concentrated form of the aromatic volatile organic compounds, or what many would refer to as the active ingredients, since it’s those compounds responsible for the scent, taste and certain biological effects.Įven though it’s “essential” that word is often left off when describing this particular type. Steam distillation and other processes are needed to extract and concentrate these compounds. Often times a leaf, root, or fruit may only have 1% or less of these compounds. Technically known as aromatic volatile organic compounds, these are naturally found in very low concentrations. peppermint essential oilĮssential oils are different than olive, coconut, and other cooking/culinary types.īrands like Young Living, Doterra, Edens Garden and others are selling what’s known as the “quintessential” compounds of a given plant. Here’s a scientific review of what’s fact, fiction, and something in-between for each of the purported uses you may be hearing about.įirst though, let’s go over the basics to make sure we are all talking about the same thing. However there is a lot of other research, which is much more compelling, about IBS and other digestive issues. With that in context, the 50% doesn’t quite sound as impressive, right? If you actually read that study, you will see they left out the most important part there was also a 38% improvement for the placebo group ( 1).
“One study found a 50% reduction in IBS symptoms with 75% of patients who used it.” Here’s what one very popular blog says about it: Take for example the topic of irritable bowel syndrome.
In fact, some places appear to intentionally be giving you a glass half-full story. This essential oil does have a lot interesting things going for it, but what you are reading elsewhere may not always be true.
Now, there are websites listing 25 or even 43 health benefits and the words used to describe them include “proven,” “unbelievable,” and “miraculous.” Previously, you might see articles claiming 10 uses for peppermint oil. Rather than help, maybe you’ve heard it can hurt those pesky spiders, mice, rats, and roaches around you home. Spiders, ants, and insect repellentĬan it really help with hair growth? How about irritable bowel syndrome?