An overview on menthae piperitae (peppermint oil) Article · January 013 citations 16 reads 3,439 authors

 
Postoperative Nausea 
Tate
10
demonstrated 
that 
inhalation 
of 
peppermint oil vapors significantly reduced 
postoperative nausea and the requirement for 
pharmacologic 
antiemetics 
following 
gynecologic surgery. Inhalation of isopropyl 
alcohol vapors is a South American folk remedy 
for nausea. More recently, its use has been 

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IJPCBS 2013, 3(3), 834-838 Anupam et al. ISSN: 2249-9504
837 
advocated for transport-related nausea1 as well 
as for PONV in children and adults.
11 
Winston et 
all
12 
found that isopropyl alcohol inhalation 
relieved PONV more rapidly than ondansetron 4 
mg IV, but a placebo group was not studied. A 
randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled 
study
13 
on 33 surgery patients indicate that 
initial treatment of postoperative nausea with 
aromatherapy reduces patients’ subjective 
perception of nausea and IV antiemetic use in 
the PACU by nearly 50%. 
 
GENOTOXICITY 
Anderson and Jenson
14
(1984) found no 
mutagenicty of peppermint essential oil in the 
salmonella/ microsomes assay. Essential oil of 
menthe spicata L. appeared to be slight 
genotoxic
15
. In human lymphocytes peppermint 
oil was found to be cytotoxic and induced 
chromosomes aberrations only when inhibition 
of mitotic activity was 70% or higher 
 
CONTRAINDICATIONS
16
 
Preparations of Aetheroleum Menthae Piperitae 
should not be used internally by patients with 
inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract or gall 
bladder, or with impaired liver function. 
Hypersensitivity to the essential oil has been 
reported.