Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract

What Is It?

Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil is a natural essential oil obtained from the peppermint plant. Other ingredients made from leaves of the peppermint plant that may be used in cosmetics and personal care products include Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf, and Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Water. In cosmetics and personal care products, these ingredients are used in the formulation of dentrifices, mouthwashes and breath fresheners, skin care products, bath products, and makeup.

Why Is It Used?

Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf, and Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Water impart a distinct odor or flavor to products. In cosmetic and personal care products, these ingredients may also function as skin conditioning agents.

Scientific Facts

Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf, and Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Water are obtained from the Mentha piperita plant. The oil is composed primarily of menthol and menthone. Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil is a colorless or pale yellow liquid having a strong, penetrating odor. It also has a pungent taste that is followed by the sensation of coldness when air is drawn into the mouth.

Safety Information

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) includes peppermint on its list of spices and other natural seasonings and flavoring considered Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS). Peppermint is also on the list of GRAS essential oils, oleoresins and natural extractives.

The safety of Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf, and Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Water has been assessed by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel.

The CIR Expert Panel evaluated the scientific data and concluded that Peppermint (Mentha Piperita) Oil, Peppermint (Mentha Piperita) Extract, Peppermint (Mentha Piperita) Leaves, and Peppermint (Mentha Piperita) Water were safe as used in cosmetics and personal care products. The concentration of pulegone (a natural component) in these ingredients should not exceed 1%.

CIR Safety Review: Peppermint contains over 30 known components, including traces of pulegone, menthofuran and limonene. Most of the safety test data reviewed by the CIR Expert Panel concerned Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil. Because Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil includes many components, data on the oil were considered relevant to the entire group of ingredients.

Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil was minimally toxic in acute oral studies. Peppermint Oil was not phototoxic. Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil was negative for mutagenicity in bacteria and in a mouse lymphoma mutagenesis assay but the results were not clear in a Chinese hamster fibroblast cell chromosome aberration assay. In a carcinogenicity study of toothpaste and its components, no apparent differences were noted between test material with Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil and the toothpaste base. Isolated clinical cases of irritation and/or sensitization to Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil and/or its components have been reported, but Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil (8%) was not a sensitizer when tested using a maximization protocol.

The CIR Expert Panel noted that there was evidence that menthol, a major component of Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil can enhance penetration of other agents. Formulators were cautioned that this enhanced penetration can affect the use of other ingredients whose safety assessment was based on their lack of absorption. The CIR Expert Panel acknowledged the toxicity of pulegone and limited its concentration to less than or equal to 1% in cosmetic ingredients derived from Mentha piperita. The CIR Expert Panel was confident that this concentration was achievable both by controlling the time of harvest and through the patented technique described in the report.

More information about botanica ingredients.

FDA: Link to Code of Federal Regulations for Peppermint (Oil)

Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf, and Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Water may be used in cosmetics and personal care products marketed in Europe according to the general provisions of the Cosmetics Regulation of the European Union.

The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives has established an Acceptable Daily Intake of 0-4 mg/kg body weight for menthol, a major constituent of Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil.

 

More Scientific Information

The mint species Mentha piperita (family Lamiaceae), a sterile interspecific hybrid believed to have occurred in nature from the hybridization of fertile M. spicata. Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil is a volatile oil obtained from the whole plant Mentha piperita. In naming plants, botanists use a Latin name made up of the genus and species of the plant.

For example, under this system the plant, chamomile is known as Mentha piperita L., where “L” stands for Linneaus, who first described the type of plant specimen. Plants are also known by a common name that has been handed down through generations. These common names may vary from country to country. Therefore, Latin names, which are more likely to be recognized in many countries, are frequently used on the label of a product to identify an ingredient made from plants.