Used as an infusion, extract and tincture.

This great tasting aromatic herb, and its close relatives in the mint family, are used as teas and soup, stuffing, meat, salad and dessert seasoning all over the world.

Peppermint tea is a great household remedy for an oncoming cold, nervous or upset stomach.

The 1997 Commission E on Phytotherapy and Herbal Substances of the German Federal Institute for Drugs recommends Peppermint leaves for 'Spastic complaints of the gastrointestinal tract as well as gall bladder and bile ducts.'

'Dosage: Internal: 3 - 6 g of leaf; 5 - 15 g of tincture (according to Erg. B. 6); equivalent preparations. Mode of Administration: Cut herb for infusions, extracts of peppermint leaves for internal use. Actions
Direct antispasmodic action on the smooth muscle of the digestive tract; Choleretic; Carminative.'

Grieve's classic 'A Modern Herbal': 'Peppermint oil is the most extensively used of all the volatile oils, both medicinally and commercially. The characteristic anti-spasmodic action of the volatile oil is more marked in this than in any other oil, and greatly adds to its power of relieving pains arising in the alimentary canal.'

'From its stimulating, stomachic and carminative properties, it is valuable in certain forms of dyspepsia, being mostly used for flatulence and colic. It may also be employed for other sudden pains and for cramp in the abdomen; wide use is made of Peppermint in cholera and diarrhoea.'

'It is generally combined with other medicines when its stomachic effects are required, being also employed with purgatives to prevent griping. Oil of Peppermint allays sickness and nausea, and is much used to disguise the taste of unpalatable drugs, as it imparts its aromatic characteristics to whatever prescription it enters into. It is used as an infants' cordial.'

'The oil itself is often given on sugar and added to pills, also a spirit made from the oil, but the preparation in most general use is Peppermint Water, which is the oil and water distilled together. Peppermint Water and spirit of Peppermint are official preparations of the British Pharmacopoeia.'

'In flatulent colic, spirit of Peppermint in hot water is a good household remedy, also the oil given in doses of one or two drops on sugar.'

'Peppermint is good to assist in raising internal heat and inducing perspiration, although its strength is soon exhausted. In slight colds or early indications of disease, a free use of Peppermint tea will, in most cases, effect a cure, an infusion of 1 ounce of the dried herb to a pint of boiling water being employed, taken in wineglassful doses; sugar and milk may be added if desired.'

'An infusion of equal quantities of Peppermint herb and Elder flowers (to which either Yarrow or Boneset may be added) will banish a cold or mild attack of influenza within thirty-six hours, and there is no danger of an overdose or any harmful action on the heart. Peppermint tea is used also for palpitation of the heart.'

'In cases of hysteria and nervous disorders, the usefulness of an infusion of Peppermint has been found to be well augmented by the addition of equal quantities of Wood Betony, its operation being hastened by the addition to the infusion of a few drops of tincture of Caraway.'

King's 1898 Dispensatory: 'Peppermint is a powerful diffusive stimulant, antispasmodic, carminative, stomachic, and weak anodyne. It undoubtedly possesses marked antiseptic properties. Used in the treatment of gastrodynia, flatulent colic, hysteria, spasms or cramps of the stomach, to allay the griping of cathartics, to check nausea and vomiting, and to disguise the unpleasant taste of other medicines.'

'Equal parts of the essence and alcohol, used by atomization, relieve the cough of bronchitis and pneumonia. The fresh herb, bruised and applied over the bowels, will often allay sick stomach, and is efficient in cholera infantum. The same kind of application sometimes relieves headache.'

'The infusion may be drank freely; but the most usual form of administration is the essence, made by dissolving 1 fluid drachm of the oil in 1 fluid ounce of alcohol. Dose, from 10 to 60 drops, in sweetened water.'

American Materia Medica, 1919 (Ellingwood): 'In fevers of an inflammatory character caused by exposure to cold and damp, with nausea and vomiting, a warm infusion of peppermint may be given to produce perspiration and promote a cure, as it is a very efficient diaphoretic.'

'The oil of peppermint, on account of the menthol present in it, is a local anesthetics, and may be employed to relieve local pain, as in the inflamed joints of rheumatism, as a spray in painful inflammation of the throat and fauces, and in any painful condition where a direct application of the anesthetic can be made.'

'Where the food tends to ferment in the stomach and bowels, it may be given in doses of three to five minims in capsules, as an antiseptic to prevent fermentation and promote digestion.'

'When a local application of the oil of peppermint is made, the parts, where practicable, should be covered with oiled silk or rubber cloth to prevent evaporation.'

'A spray of oil of peppermint may be inhaled with relief of many of the distressing symptoms incident to asthma and chronic bronchitis of the aged.'

'Oil of peppermint applied to carious teeth will promptly relieve the pain of toothache. The cavity should be dried and a pledget of cotton saturated with the oil placed in it.'

'In burns and scalds peppermint is both soothing and curative, the parts being kept wet with it. It is a stimulating dressing, but is not objectionable on this account.'