Spearmint Oil
(Mentha spicata)
Description A hardy branched perennial herb with bright green, lance - shaped, sharply leaves, quickly spreading underground runners and pink or lilac - coloured flowers in slender cylindrical spikes.
From creeping root-stocks, erect, square stems rise to a height of about 2 feet, bearing very short-stalked, acute-pointed, lance-shaped, wrinkled, bright green leaves, with finely toothed edges and smooth surfaces, the ribs very prominent beneath.
Ethenomedicinal Practice It was used by the ancient Greeks as a restorative and to scent their bathwater. The distilled water is used to relieve hiccough, colic, nausea, indigestion and flatulence. 'Applied to the forehead and temples, it cases the pains in the head, and is good to wash the heads of young children with, against all manner of breaking out, sores or scabs… being smelled unto, it is comforting to the head.'
Extraction Essential oil by steam distillation from the flowering tops.
Characteristics and Constituents A pale yellow or olive mobile liquid with a warm, spicy - herbaceous, minty odour. It blends well with lavender, lavandin, jasmine, eucalyptus, basil and rosemary and is often used in combination with peppermint.
L-carvone (50 - 70%), dihydrocarvone, phellandrene, limonene, menthone, menthol, pulegone, cineol, linalool, pinenes, among other.
Actions and Uses Anesthetic (local), antiseptic, antispasmodic, astringent, carminative, cephalic, cholagogue, decongestant, digestive, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, hepatic, nervine, stimulant, stomachic, tonic.
Used as a fragrance component, mainly in soaps and colognes. Used primarily as a flavour ingredient in a wide range of products, including toothpaste, chewing gum, confectionery, alcoholic and soft drinks.
Its principal employment is for its febrifuge and diuretic virtues.
Spearmint is chiefly used for culinary purposes.
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