This product is the stem and leaves of the perennial herbaceous plant Mentha (Mentha haplocaly Brio.) from the Lamiaceae family.

It is produced in both the north and south of mainland China, with the Jiangsu variety being particularly renowned. The harvesting period varies by region, typically allowing for 2 to 3 cuttings per year, and it can be used fresh or dried in the shade and cut into segments for use.

bubble_chart Properties and Meridians

Acrid, cool. act on lung and liver channels.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Releasing exterior with pungent-cool, clear and benefit head and eyes, benifiting pharynx, promoting eruption, soothing liver and relieving depression.

bubble_chart Indications

1. Used for wind-heat common cold and the initial stage of warm disease. This product is pungent to disperse and cool to clear heat, light and cool to dissipate, commonly used for releasing the exterior with pungent-cool properties. Therefore, it can be used to treat wind-heat common cold or the initial stage of warm disease, where the pathogen is in the defense aspect, with symptoms such as headache, fever, and slight aversion to wind and cold. It is often combined with Lonicera, Forsythia, Great Burdock Achene, Schizonepeta, etc., such as in Lonicera and Forsythia Powder.
2. Used for headache and red eyes, sore throat. This product is light and floating, with aroma to unblock the nose, and is effective in dispersing upper energizer wind-heat, clearing the head and eyes, and benefiting the throat. For treating wind-heat attacking upwards, causing headache and red eyes, it is often combined with Mulberry Leaf, Chrysanthemum Flower, Chastetree Fruit, etc. For treating severe wind-heat congestion causing sore throat, it is often combined with Platycodon Root, raw Liquorice Root, Stiff Silkworm, Schizonepeta, Saposhnikovia Root, etc.
3. Used for measles that do not erupt and rubella with cutaneous pruritus. This product is light and dispersing, with the function of releasing the exterior with pungent-cool properties and promoting eruption. For treating wind-heat binding the exterior, causing measles that do not erupt, it is often combined with Cicada Slough, Schizonepeta, Great Burdock Achene, Arnebia, etc., such as in promoting eruption decoction. For treating rubella with cutaneous pruritus, it can be combined with Sophora, densefruit pittany root-bark, Saposhnikovia Root, etc., to achieve the effect of dispelling wind, promoting eruption, and relieving itching.
4. Used for liver depression qi stagnation, chest tightness, and hypochondriac pain. This product also enters the liver meridian, capable of soothing the liver and relieving depression. It is often combined with Bupleurum, Peony Root, Chinese Angelica, etc., to soothe the liver and regulate qi, treating liver depression qi stagnation, distending pain in the chest and hypochondrium, and menstrual irregularities, such as in Peripatetic Powder.
5. In addition, this product dispels filth with aroma and can also be used to treat summerheat dampness filthy turbidity, causing filthy-attack eruptive disease, abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. It is often combined with Patchouli, Fortune Eupatorium, Hyacinth Bean, etc.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Xinxiu Bencao: "Mainly treats Zefeng cold-damage disease, induces sweating, and treats malign qi, heart abdominal distension, and fullness pain."
2. 《Yongyao Faxiang》: "Clears head wind, eliminates wind-heat."
3. 《Materia Medica Gangmu》: "Benefits pharynx, throat, mouth, and teeth diseases, treats scrofula, sores, scabies, wind-induced urticaria."

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

Decoct and take 3-6g; it is advisable to decoct later. The leaves are more effective for inducing sweating, while the stems are better for regulating qi.

bubble_chart Cautions and Contraindications

This product is aromatic and pungent, promoting sweating and consuming qi, therefore it is not suitable for those with a weak constitution and profuse sweating.

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

This product mainly contains volatile oil. The primary components of the oil are Menthol, Menthone, and Isomenthone. When taken internally, Oil of Wild Mint stimulates the central nervous system, dilates skin capillaries, promotes sweat gland secretion, and increases heat dissipation, thereby exerting a diaphoretic and antipyretic effect. Oil of Wild Mint can inhibit the contraction of gastrointestinal smooth muscles and counteract acetylcholine, exhibiting an antispasmodic effect. It also promotes the secretion of respiratory glandular tissues, providing therapeutic effects on respiratory inflammation. In vitro tests have shown that Mentha decoction inhibits viruses such as vesicular stomatitis virus, forest virus, and mumps virus, as well as bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus albus, Streptococcus type A and B, Neisseria catarrhalis, Enterococcus, Shigella flexneri, Bacillus anthracis, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, cold-damage disease bacillus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli. When applied externally, Oil of Wild Mint stimulates cold receptors in nerve endings to produce a cooling sensation and reflexively causes changes in deep tissue blood vessels, thereby exerting anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipruritic effects.