Daily doses of peppermint oil have been proved to lower blood pressures for patients with mildly high readings, new research has found.
A team of University of Lancashire academics discovered a daily intake of 100 microlitres of peppermint oil, taken twice a day over 20 days, lowered the systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) by an average of 8.5mmHg. The findings have been published in PLOS One Journal and prove there could be a simple, inexpensive, and well‑tolerated way to help treat people with slightly raised blood pressure.
Lead author Dr Jonnie Sinclair, Reader in Sport and Health Sciences, said: “High blood pressure is one of the biggest causes of heart disease and death worldwide, and it costs a huge amount of money to treat.
“Although medicines are commonly used to treat it, it’s not always clear how well they work in the long-term, and they can cause unwanted side effects.” Peppermint contains substances like menthol and flavonoids and in the study, 40 18 to 65-years-olds were randomly split into two groups.
One group in the pre‑hypertension and stage 1 hypertension phases took a small daily dose of oil and saw the improvement while the other took a peppermint‑flavoured placebo that did not contain the active oil and saw no real change. Researchers measured the change in systolic blood pressure, but they also looked at body measurements, blood results, diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number in a blood pressure reading), heart rate, mental wellbeing and sleep quality.
Dr Sinclair added: “Our findings were very positive and they have significant clinical implications, especially given arterial hypertension is the most common preventable risk factor for cardiometabolic disease and the greatest single risk factor for global mortality.
“Peppermint oil is low in calories and price, so it’s proved to be a very simple and cost-effective solution to potentially treat millions of people around the world.”
