Peppermint extract, peppermint oil, the killer of "cancer that can't die"

Recently, a new clinical study from Belgium shows that peppermint extract peppermint oil can be used as an antispasmodic for irritable bowel syndrome Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is currently considered as a disorder of intestinal function Clinically, it is characterized by abdominal pain, abdominal distention, change of defecation habits and abnormal stool characteristics It is often a chronic intermittent attack, and organic diseases are excluded after examination In the past, the names of colonic dysfunction, colonic allergy, spasmodic colitis and mucinous colitis were commonly used In recent years, they are collectively called irritable bowel syndrome The onset of IBS is insidious, the symptoms are recurrent or chronic The course of IBS can last for years to decades, but the general health status is not affected Mental, diet and other factors can induce the recurrence or aggravation of symptoms The prevalence rate of irritable bowel syndrome in China is 0.82% - 5.67% The majority of patients are young and middle-aged people aged 20-40 Although irritable bowel syndrome is not a fatal disease, it has a great impact on people's quality of life People with irritable bowel syndrome are no less desperate than cancer patients Some patients think that the disease makes life worse than death, and it is recognized as "cancer that can't die" Peppermint is a perennial herb, which has been used in Europe for hundreds of years as a traditional medicine digestive aid Menthol oil is distilled from different parts of plants Its main active component is menthol, which exists in the volatile oil In vitro animal studies have shown that menthol can inhibit gastrointestinal motility According to recent clinical evidence, menthol oil is widely used as an antispasmodic for irritable bowel syndrome Although Mint has been used for several centuries, the mechanism of its effect on gastrointestinal sensory function is still unclear At the same time, the effects of menthol and menthol showed significant species and regional differences In addition, it is impossible to infer the specific effect of menthol oil on gastric motility function in the study of mechanism of using several combinations of Chinese herbal extracts Finally, data on the effects of menthol oil on meal induced compliance, nutritional tolerance, and sensitive gastric dilatation have not been published As far as the mechanism of action is concerned, the gastrointestinal effect of menthol is at least partially mediated by the M8 member of the ion channel superfamily of transient receptor potential (TRP) Transient receptor potential cation channels involve more and more cell functions, including several aspects of digestive tract management TRPM8 channels were found in dorsal root ganglia, vagal afferent neurons, gastric fundus, colon and small intestine Animal studies have found that menthol can reduce intestinal peristalsis, which may be due to the role of transient receptor potential channel Menthol is the main component of menthol, which is widely used as an antispasmodic in irritable bowel syndrome The pain threshold of irritable bowel syndrome patients is lower than that of normal people, which is often manifested as hypersensitivity In the current study, we investigated the effect of acute oral administration on gastric pressure and gastric sensory function in healthy people Compared with placebo, the intragastric pressure and motility index of the proximal stomach decreased significantly after administration of menthol oil The results showed that menthol oil reduced intragastric pressure, near stage contraction and appetite To sum up, the study shows that the acute oral administration of menthol oil does not affect the sensitivity of healthy people's stomach or the regulatory reflex to liquid drinks, so menthol oil can be used as an antispasmodic agent for irritable bowel syndrome A full meal of peppermint oil did not affect the symptoms In addition, peppermint oil can reduce intragastric pressure, proximal gastric stage contraction and appetite Oral menthol oil provides patients with a new choice for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.