Content uploaded by Abeer Abdelhalim
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Abeer Abdelhalim on Oct 14, 2020
Content may be subject to copyright.
© 2021 Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmacognosy Research, 9 (1), 49-57, 2021
ISSN 0719-4250
http://jppres.com/jppres
Original Article
_____________________________________
The effect of Mentha piperita L. on the mental health issues of
university students: A pilot study
[Efecto de Mentha piperita L. en los problemas de salud mental de los estudiantes universitarios: Un estudio piloto]
Abeer R. Abdelhalim
Chemistry Department, College of Science, 30002 Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia.
E-mail: aabdelhalim@taibahu.edu.sa; abeerb@ymail.com
Abstract
Resumen
Context: Stress, sleep disorders, and anxiety are common mental health
problems affecting many university students. Peppermint, as a
traditional herb, may be used as an alternative to stimulant drugs with
less adverse effects to deal with mental health problems of the students.
Aims: To evaluate the impact of oral Mentha piperita (peppermint) on
self-reported memory performance, anxiety, stress, and the quality of
sleep in science students at Taibah University.
Methods: Eligible participating students were allocated either to the
experimental group or the control group. The experimental group was
asked to drink either an infusion of fresh aerial parts of peppermint
once a day for four weeks, and the control group asked not to drink any
peppermint or any other herbs during the study (no treatment).
Anxiety, stress, memory performance, and sleep quality of the
participating student were assessed by self-reported questionnaires
before and after the peppermint treatment. Anxiety in the students was
assessed by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, memory performance
was evaluated using the Prospective and Retrospective Memory
questionnaire and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used to assess
the sleep quality and patterns in students.
Results: The scores of all the scales and subscales of the State-Trait
Anxiety Inventory, Prospective and Retrospective Memory, and the
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were significantly decreased in the
peppermint group in comparison with the control group after four
weeks.
Conclusions: Peppermint appears to significantly enhance memory,
reduce anxiety and stress, and improve the sleep quality of university
students.
Contexto: El estrés, los trastornos del sueño y la ansiedad son problemas
de salud mental comunes que afectan a muchos estudiantes
universitarios. La menta, como hierba tradicional, se puede utilizar
como alternativa a las drogas estimulantes con menos efectos adversos
para tratar los problemas de salud mental de los estudiantes.
Objetivos: Evaluar el impacto de la Mentha piperita (menta) oral en el
rendimiento autoinformado de la memoria, la ansiedad, el estrés y la
calidad del sueño en estudiantes de ciencias de la Universidad de
Taibah.
Métodos: Los estudiantes participantes elegibles fueron asignados a los
grupos experimental o control. Se pidió al grupo experimental que
bebiera una infusión de partes aéreas frescas de menta una vez al día
durante cuatro semanas, y al grupo de control se le pidió que no bebiera
menta ni ninguna otra hierba durante el estudio (sin tratamiento). La
ansiedad, el estrés, el rendimiento de la memoria y la calidad del sueño
del estudiante participante se evaluaron mediante cuestionarios
autoinformados antes y después del tratamiento con menta. La ansiedad
en los estudiantes se evaluó mediante el inventario de ansiedad de rasgo
estatal, el rendimiento de la memoria se evaluó mediante el cuestionario
de memoria prospectiva y retrospectiva y el índice de calidad del sueño
de Pittsburgh se utilizó para evaluar la calidad y los patrones del sueño
en los estudiantes.
Resultados: Las puntuaciones de todas las escalas y subescalas del
inventario de ansiedad rasgo del estado, la memoria prospectiva y
retrospectiva y el índice de calidad del sueño de Pittsburgh
disminuyeron significativamente en el grupo de menta en comparación
con el grupo de control después de cuatro semanas.
Conclusiones: La menta parece mejorar significativamente la memoria,
reducir la ansiedad y el estrés y mejorar la calidad del sueño de los
estudiantes universitarios.
Keywords: anxiety; memory; peppermint; pilot study; sleep quality;
stress.
Palabras Clave: ansiedad; estrés; estudio piloto; memoria; menta; calidad
sueño.
ARTICLE INFO
AUTHOR INFO
Received: August 29, 2020.
ORCID: 0000-0002-4446-8372
Received in revised form: October 7, 2020.
Accepted: October 10, 2020.
Available Online: October 13, 2020.
Abdelhalim
Effect of peppermint on mental health problems
http://jppres.com/jppres
J Pharm Pharmacogn Res (2021) 9(1): 50
INTRODUCTION
Mentha piperita L., traditionally known as pep-
permint, belongs to the genus Mentha (Lamiaceae
family). Peppermint is a flowering perennial herb
cultivated for its extensive uses in food, cosmetics,
medicine, and pharmaceutical applications
(McKay and Blumberg, 2006). The medicinal uses
of peppermint as a folk remedy include anti-
inflammatory, antispasmodic, antioxidant, anti-
bacterial, urinary tract infections, antiallergenic
and sedative (Baliga and Rao, 2010).
Peppermint being prepared in a tea form or
when taken in a dose less than 270 mg is usually
considered as being safe. The United States Food
and Drug Administration classified peppermint
essential oil as Generally Recognized as Safe
(GRAS) (Keifer et al., 2008). Peppermint essential
oil is one of the most popular oil extracted from
the flowering plant fresh parts with menthol and
menthone being the major components. Menthol is
extensively used in many products including per-
fumes, toothpaste, mouth fresheners, chewing
gums, analgesic balms, cough drops, and candies.
Menthol was found to possess mild antibacterial
and anti-inflammatory effects (Kamatou et al.,
2013), used for the relief of cold symptoms such as
nasal congestion and cough (Eccles, 1994), exhibit
antispasmodic effects (Johns, 1997), to enhance the
absorption of topical skin medications (Pattnaik et
al., 1997), and have a moderate oral sensation of
warmth and coldness (Balakrishnan, 2015). In the
last few years, many scientific research has been
carried out to study the effect of peppermint and
its essential oil on the central nervous system
(CNS). Multiple studies suggested that pepper-
mint is a CNS stimulant. Antinociceptive effects of
the peppermint ethanolic extract in mice were
studied, with the peppermint extracts found to
increase the latency of response to thermal stimu-
lation when using a hot plate test (Atta and
Alkofahi, 1998). Peppermint oil has also been re-
ported to elicit a strong antinociceptive activity on
neuropathic pain when applied to the skin in a
case study of a single patient suffering from
postherpetic neuralgia (Davies et al., 2002). The
aqueous extract of peppermint leaves was found
to have antinociceptive activity against thermal
stimulation induced by hot plate and writhing
induced by acetic acid in mice (Taher, 2012).
The effects of peppermint oil for headache
treatment has been investigated in thirty-two
healthy subjects in a study by Göbel et al. (1994). A
significant antinociceptive activity associated with
relieving of headache pain was produced when
topically applying peppermint oil combined with
ethanol to the forehead and temples areas.
Raudenbush et al. (2009) investigated the effect
of the scent of peppermint on alertness and mood
of drivers and found that and peppermint in com-
bination with cinnamon odor decreased frustra-
tion and perceived time pressures and increased
alertness of drivers. The peppermint odor was also
found to reduced fatigue and anxiety in this situa-
tion. Additionally, nasal inhalation of peppermint
oil was found to decrease the mental fatigue effect
in mice (Liang et al., 2015).
Stress, sleep disorders, anxiety, and depression
are mental health complaints that usually affect
many university students and can cause adverse
side effects. For example, poor sleeping habits may
negatively affect academic performance and in-
crease mental health problems (Orzech et al.,
2011). Depression is associated with harmful hab-
its including smoking, lack of exercise, poor diet,
and poor sleeping patterns and may cause as well
some physical health problems (Doom and
Haeffel, 2013). People with anxiety disorders have
been reported to have a poor quality of life com-
pared to people with low levels of anxiety (Barrera
and Norton, 2009). In order for students to deal
with these mental problems and try to enhance
their memory performance and attention, they
may use stimulant drugs, which may cause serious
adverse effects (Nematolahi et al., 2018).
The use of medicinal plants for dealing with
many health problems has increased in many parts
of the world due to their effectiveness and fewer
side effects. Based on the above, peppermint may
be used as an alternative to stimulant drugs with
less adverse effects in healthy people. This study
Abdelhalim
Effect of peppermint on mental health problems
http://jppres.com/jppres
J Pharm Pharmacogn Res (2021) 9(1): 51
aimed to evaluate the impact of peppermint on
anxiety, stress, memory, and sleep quality in sci-
ence students at Taibah University.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Ethical considerations
The current study was approved by the ethical
committee of the Deanship of Scientific Research,
Taibah University, and registered with identity
number 144086982. Prior to completing the study,
all the participating students signed a consent
form and were approved to participate in this
study. Participants were allowed to ask any ques-
tions about the study, all data from the study were
deidentified to ensure confidentiality, and partici-
pants were informed of their right to quit at any
time should they wish from the study, and the
right to know the results of the study.
Participants
A total of 129 science students aged 19 to 23
years were included and agreed to take part in this
study, but it was completed by 124 students. Stu-
dents with any health problems or mental disor-
ders, using any medications, or who were preg-
nant or lactating were excluded from the trial.
Study design
The current double randomized controlled trial
was performed at Taibah University, Al-Madinah
Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia from February to
April 2019. A computerized random allocation
method was performed to assign the eligible par-
ticipating students either to the control group or to
the experimental group, and then subject numbers
were randomly assigned.
Each participating student was asked to attend
two sessions (pre and post-trial) held at the Chem-
istry Department of Taibah University. All partici-
pants received an introductory letter and four
types of questionnaires (STAI, PSS, PRMQ, and
PSQI) to measure the effects of peppermint on
anxiety, stress, memory performance (prospective
and retrospective), and the sleep quality in science
students. In the first session pre-trial testing (base-
line) all participating students were asked to fill
the four questionnaires and to record their demo-
graphic data. The second session post-trial testing
was performed four weeks later, and the partici-
pating students were asked to fill the four ques-
tionnaires after being treated with peppermint.
Two sets of test scores were collected in person
and analyzed to assess for any change in test per-
formance.
Interventions
The participating students were allocated ran-
domly into two groups (62 students in each
group). The peppermint (experimental) group was
asked to drink the infusion of 250 mg (socked for
10 min in hot water) of fresh aerial parts of the
peppermint plant 30 min before bedtime daily for
30 days. The control group was asked not to drink
any peppermint or any other herbs during the
study period. The fresh aerial parts of the pepper-
mint plant were purchased from herbal markets
located in Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah. The plants
were identified by Dr. Nabila Hamed (Department
of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Taibah
University). A voucher specimen (MP) has been
deposited in the author’s research laboratory at the
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Tai-
bah University.
Measurements
Anxiety, stress, memory performance, and
sleep quality of the participating student were
assessed by self-reported questionnaires before
and after the peppermint treatment. The Statistical
Package of Social Science (SPSS) version 20 for
Windows (IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA)
was used for all analyses. P values of less than 0.05
were considered statistically significant.
Anxiety in the students was assessed by the
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The STAI
questionnaire contains 21 items with a score from
1 to 4 for each item. A score of 1 meant that the
situation was not relevant to the students, while a
score of 4 indicated that the situation was definite-
ly as much, or most of the time was relevant to
them. Total scores vary between 20 and 80 with
Abdelhalim
Effect of peppermint on mental health problems
http://jppres.com/jppres
J Pharm Pharmacogn Res (2021) 9(1): 52
higher scores indicating signs of greater anxiety
(Julian, 2011).
Stress Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was used to
evaluate the stress of the students. PSS is consid-
ered to be the most psychological method for as-
sessing the stress perception. It is an indicator of
the degree to which situations are considered
stressful. This questionnaire has 10 items, each
item has a 5-point scale with a score from 0 to 4. A
score of 0 meant that the situation was not related
to the students, while a score of 4 indicated that
the situation was very much related to them (Cole,
1999).
Memory performance was evaluated using the
Prospective and Retrospective Memory Question-
naire (PRMQ). Retrospective memory involves the
content to be recalled from the past (people,
events, words, among others), while the prospec-
tive memory requires remembering to make an
action in the future (appointments). The PRMQ is
a self-reported assessment of daily prospective
and retrospective deficiencies. This questionnaire
has 16 elements (8 concerning about prospective
memory and 8 concerning retrospective memory)
scored from 5 (very often) to 1 (never) for each
item resulting in a minimum of a total score of 18
(indicating poor memory) and a maximum of 80
(indicating good memory) (Crawford et al., 2006).
The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was
used to assess the sleep quality and patterns in
students. This questionnaire contains seven com-
ponents: subjective sleep quality, sleep latency,
sleep duration, habitual sleep performance, sleep
disturbances, sleeping medication usage, and day-
time dysfunction. Students with a total score of or
above five were classified as poor sleepers
(Moghaddam et al., 2012).
RESULTS
At the end of the study data from 124 students,
62 students in the peppermint group, and 62 stu-
dents in the control group were collected and ana-
lyzed. The consort flow diagram is shown in Fig. 1.
The mean age of 124 participating students was
22.1 years. Among the participants, 16 (12.9%)
were male, and 108 (87.1%) were female. The de-
mographic data (Table 1) between the two groups
were not significantly different. Some side effects
within the peppermint group, such as heartburn
and mouth sores, were reported.
The results for anxiety, stress, prospective and
retrospective memory, and sleep quality in the
peppermint and control groups at baseline and
after four weeks of the students are summarized in
Table 2. The results for both STAI and PSS scales
revealed that peppermint reduced anxiety and
stress in participating students. At baseline, the
mean scores in the anxiety scale were 42.3 for the
students in the peppermint group and 41.5 for
students in the control group. After four weeks,
the mean score observed in the peppermint group
was significantly reduced (p<0.05). In the PSS
scale, the results obtained as mean scores was
18.55 and 17.32 in the peppermint and control
groups, respectively. After four weeks, the mean
score observed was significantly decreased only in
the peppermint group (p<0.05). Table 2 also shows
the results for the PRMQ scale and subscales and
for each scale in peppermint and control groups at
baseline and after four weeks. The analyses re-
vealed that for all the scales and subscales, the
main effect of time factor was significant. Com-
pared to the control group after four weeks, the
scores of all the scales and subscales were signifi-
cantly reduced in the peppermint group.
Table 3 classifies the status of PSQ scale. The re-
sults showed that 46 (74.19%) students were classi-
fied as poor sleepers at baseline, and this de-
creased to 22 (35.48%) students after the pepper-
mint treatment (p<0.05).
Abdelhalim
Effect of peppermint on mental health problems
http://jppres.com/jppres
J Pharm Pharmacogn Res (2021) 9(1): 53
1 2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Assessed for eligibility (n=140 )
Excluded (n=8)
Not meeting inclusion criteria (n=8)
Declined to participate (n=0)
Other reasons (n=0)
Analysed (n=62)
Excluded from analysis (give reasons)
(n=0)
Lost to follow-up (give reasons) (n=2)
Discontinued intervention (travel) (n=2 )
Allocated to peppermint group (n=66)
Received allocated intervention (n=66)
Did not receive allocated intervention
(n=0)
Analysed (n=62 )
Excluded from analysis (give reasons)
(n=0)
Allocation
Analysis
Follow-Up
Randomized (n=132)
Enrollment
Allocated to control group (n=66)
Received allocated intervention (n=66)
Did not receive allocated intervention
(n=0)
)
Lost to follow-up (give reasons) (n= 3)
Discontinued intervention (pregnancy)
(n=1)
Figure 1. CONSORT flow diagram of the study.
Table 1. Baseline characteristics of patients.
Variable
Peppermint
[N (%)]
Control
[N (%)]
*P-value
Age
21.6 ± 1.6
22.3 ± 1.8
0.233
Sex
0.087
Male
7 (11.29 %)
9 (11.29 %)
Female
55 (88.71) %
52 (88.71) %
Marital status
0.126
Single
46 (74.19 %)
42 (67.74 %)
Married
16 (25.81 %)
20 (32.26 %)
Year in school
0.065
Second
13 (20.97 %)
13 (20.97 %)
Third
15 (24.19 %)
9 (14.52 %)
Forth
35 (56.45 %)
40 (64.52 %)
* Based on chi-square
Abdelhalim
Effect of peppermint on mental health problems
http://jppres.com/jppres
J Pharm Pharmacogn Res (2021) 9(1): 54
Table 2. Changes in scores of STAI, PSS, PSQI, and PRMQ scales and subscales in peppermint and control groups at baseline
and after four weeks.
Variable
Group
Baseline
(Mean ± SD)
After four weeks
(Mean ± SD)
aP-value
bP-value
Time by group
interaction
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)
Peppermint
42.3 ± 3.24
39.82 ± 4.75
0.011
0.001
Control
41.5 ± 5.12
40.75 ± 3.24
0.570
Stress Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)
Peppermint
18.55 ± 3.67
16.02 ± 2.35
0.041
0.024
Control
17.32 ± 2.67
18.25 ± 2.73
0.728
Pittsburg Sleep Quality Inventory
(PSQI)
Peppermint
7.16 ± 3.49
4.58 ± 2.37
0.001
0.007
Control
7.27 ± 3.40
7.40 ± 3.44
0.117
Prospective and Retrospective
Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ)
Peppermint
44.79 ± 11.73
35.15 ± 9.99
0.001
0.005
Control
45.71 ± 11.54
45.21 ± 11.85
0.508
Prospective Memory subscale
Peppermint
23.90 ± 6.51
18.37 ± 5.56
0.000
0.006
Control
24.10 ± 6.43
24.10 ± 6.43
1.000
Retrospective Memory subscale
Peppermint
20.89 ± 5.82
16.78 ± 4.89
0.001
0.008
Control
21.61 ± 6.15
21.11 ± 5.91
0.456
SD: Standard Deviation. aPaired t-test. bMixed model analyses of variance.
Table 3. The students sleep quality status at baseline and after four weeks.
Measurement
Group
Baseline
N (%)
After four weeks
N (%)
Good sleeper (<5)
Peppermint
16 (25.80%)
40 (64.52%)
Control
19 (30.65%)
18 (29.03%)
Poor sleeper (>5)
Peppermint
46 (74.19%)
22 (35.48%)
Control
43 (69.35%)
44 (70.97%)
DISCUSSION
The findings of this study showed that pep-
permint had positive effects on improving
memory performance, decreasing anxiety and
stress conditions, and enhancing the quality of
sleep in science students.
In several studies, the effect of peppermint on
different aspects of memory has been reported.
The effect of the oil on the cognitive function was
investigated in 32 healthy volunteers in a con-
trolled study. It was found that peppermint oil,
when combined with ethanol and eucalyptus oil,
enhanced cognitive performance and possessed a
mentally relaxing effect (Göbel et al., 1994). Expo-
sure to the odor of peppermint was found to mod-
ulate mood and to increase cognitive performance
in healthy subjects. In another study by Moss et al.
(2008), peppermint has been found to boost the
overall quality of memory, positively affecting
cognitive performance and mood with a small
increase in alertness during a computerized cogni-
tive drug research assessment battery. The oral
administration of peppermint was found to en-
hance memory and memory regaining recovery
effects in Wistar albino rats in a study by Jasira et
al. (2013). Furthermore, peppermint oil with high
concentrations of menthol and menthone was
Abdelhalim
Effect of peppermint on mental health problems
http://jppres.com/jppres
J Pharm Pharmacogn Res (2021) 9(1): 55
found to modulate demanding cognitive tasks
performance and to reduce the rise in mental fa-
tigue associated with prolonged cognitive testing
in 24 healthy participants (Kennedy et al., 2018).
The finding of this study provides further evi-
dence supporting the effects of peppermint on
improving memory performance.
The antistress and antianxiety effects of oral
peppermint were also demonstrated in the current
study, which have previously been reported in
human and animal studies. Parveen et al. (2012)
reported that the administration of peppermint
extract produced anxiolytic effects in rats subject-
ed to restraint stress. Additionally, the ethanolic
extract of peppermint was found to possess anti-
depressant properties in the forced swimming test
in mice (Abbasi-Maleki et al., 2017). In another
study on the effect of peppermint odor on stress,
groups of healthy volunteers were exposed to
peppermint oil and had experienced a positive
effect on reducing the stress (Toda and Morimoto,
2011).
Peppermint has also been reported to reduce
anxiety in healthy volunteers (Dunnigan, 2013).
Additionally, in the present, we have shown that
peppermint can enhance the quality of sleep in the
students. Inhaling peppermint odor has also been
studied in relation to sleep and found to signifi-
cantly decreased daytime sleepiness (Norrish and
Dwyer, 2005) and has a stimulating and sedating
effect when inhaled before bedtime with total
sleep and more slow-wave sleep when compared
with a no-odor control (Goel and Lao, 2006).
After one month, the students in the pepper-
mint group were asked to share their notes and
comments about the study. Almost half the stu-
dents (48.4 %) felt an improvement in the quality
of their sleep, with and 9.7% reporting less insom-
nia, 17.7% noticed that the peppermint had a bene-
ficial impact on their memory and 20.9% reported
experiencing less stress. Students mentioned other
comments such as peppermint had a carminative
and laxative effect. The reported side effects in the
present study were consistent with reported stud-
ies, for example, peppermint was found to cause
heartburn (Cappello et al., 2007) and mouth sores
(Cosentino et al., 2009).
The limitations of this study are the small sam-
ple size, short duration, and the lack of compara-
tive studies that have investigated the major con-
stituents of peppermint. Hence further clinical
studies on larger sample size and longer duration
are required as well as determining the major ac-
tive constituents of peppermint.
CONCLUSIONS
This study has shown that the administration of
an infusion of peppermint can improve the quality
of sleep and enhance memory in students. Addi-
tionally, peppermint showed a considerable puta-
tive beneficial effect on anxiety, stress, and insom-
nia.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported by the Deanship of Scientific Re-
search (DSR) [grant no. 60339], Taibah University, AlMadinah
Al-Munawarrah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The author ap-
preciate DSR for this technical and financial support.
REFERENCES
Abbasi-Maleki S, Bakhtiarian A, Nikoui V (2017) Involvement
of the monoaminergic system in the antidepressant-like
effect of the crude extract of Mentha piperita (Lamiaceae)
in the forced swimming test in mice. Synergy 5: 21–28.
Atta A, Alkofahi A (1998) Anti-nociceptive and anti-
inflammatory effects of some Jordanian medicinal plant
extracts. J Ethnopharmacol 60: 117–124.
Balakrishnan A (2015) Therapeutic uses of peppermint- a
review. JPSR 7: 474.
Baliga M, Rao S (2010) Radioprotective potential of mint: A
brief review. J Cancer Res Ther 6: 255–262.
Barrera TL, Norton PJ (2009) Quality of life impairment in
generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, and panic
disorder. J Anxiety Disord 23: 1086–1090.
Cappello G, Spezzaferro M, Grossi L, Manzoli L, Marzio L
(2007) Peppermint oil (Mintoil) in the treatment of
irritable bowel syndrome: A prospective double blind
placebo-controlled randomized trial. Dig Liver Dis 39:
530–536.
Abdelhalim
Effect of peppermint on mental health problems
http://jppres.com/jppres
J Pharm Pharmacogn Res (2021) 9(1): 56
Cole SR (1999) Assessment of differential item functioning in
the Perceived Stress Scale-10. J. Epidemiol. Community
Health 53: 319–320.
Cosentino M, Bombelli R, Conti A, Colombo ML, Azzetti A,
Bergamaschi A, Marino F, Lecchini S (2009) Antioxidant
properties and in vitro immunomodulatory effects of
peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) essential oils in human
leukocytes. J Pharm Sci Res 1: 33–43.
Crawford JR, Henry JD, Ward AL, Blake J (2006) The
Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire
(PRMQ): Latent structure, normative data and
discrepancy analysis for proxy‐ratings. Br J Clin Psychol
45: 83–104.
Davies SJ, Harding LM, Baranowski AP (2002) A Novel
treatment of postherpetic neuralgia using peppermint oil.
Clin J Pain 18: 200–202.
Doom JR, Haeffel GJ (2013) Teasing apart the effects of
cognition, stress, and depression on health. Am J Health
Behav 37: 610–619.
Dunnigan JM (2013) Effects of aromatherapy on test anxiety
and performance in college students, Theses and
Dissertations. The University of North Dakota.
Eccles R (1994) Menthol and related cooling compounds. J
Pharm Pharmacol 46: 618–630.
Göbel H, Schmidt G, Soyka D (1994) Effect of peppermint and
eucalyptus oil preparations on neurophysiological and
experimental algesimetric headache parameters.
Cephalalgia 14: 228–234.
Goel N, Lao RP (2006) Sleep changes vary by odor perception
in young adults. Biol Psychol 71: 341–349.
Jasira M, Sai-Sailesh K, Mukkadan J (2013) Oral
administration of peppermint in Wistar albino rats:
Memory boosting and regaining. Indones J Biomed Sci 7:
23–26.
Johns T (1997) Behavioral Determinants for the Ingestion of
Food Phytochemicals. In: Johns T, Romeo JT (eds)
Functionality of Food Phytochemicals. Recent Advances
in Phytochemistry (Proceedings of the Phytochemical
Society of North America), vol 31. Boston, MA: Springer.
Julian LJ (2011) Measures of anxiety: state-trait anxiety
inventory (STAI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety (HADS-
A). Arthritis Care Res 63: S467–S472.
Kamatou GP, Vermaak I, Viljoen AM, Lawrence BM (2013)
Menthol: A simple monoterpene with remarkable
biological properties. Phytochemistry 96: 15-25.
Keifer D, Ulbricht C, Abrams TR, Basch E, Giese N, Giles M,
Kirkwoo CD, Miranda M, Woods J (2008) Peppermint
(Mentha piperita). J Herb Pharmacother 7: 91–143.
Kennedy D, Okello E, Chazot P, Howes MJ, Ohiomokhare S,
Jackson P, Haskell-Ramsay C, Khan J, Forster J,
Wightman E (2018) Volatile terpenes and brain function:
Investigation of the cognitive and mood effects of Mentha
Piperita L. essential oil with in vitro properties relevant to
central nervous system function. Nutrients 10: 1029.
Liang H, Long X, Lu Y, Song H, Ye J (2015) Effects of nasal
inhalation of peppermint oil on mental fatigue behaviors
and amino acid neurotransmitters in mice. Trad Chinese
Drug Res Clin Pharmacol 2015: 05.
McKay DL, Blumberg JB (2006) A review of the bioactivity
and potential health benefits of peppermint tea (Mentha
piperita L.). Phytother Res 20: 619–633.
Moghaddam JF, Nakhaee N, Sheibani V, Garrusi B, Amirkafi
A (2012) Reliability and validity of the Persian version of
the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI-P). Sleep Breath
16: 79–82.
Moss M, Hewitt S, Moss L, Wesnes K (2008) Modulation of
cognitive performance and mood by aromas of
peppermint and ylang-ylang. Int J Neurosci 118: 59–77.
Nematolahi P, Mehrabani M, Karami-Mohajeri S,
Dabaghzadeh F (2018) Effects of Rosmarinus officinalis L.
on memory performance, anxiety, depression, and sleep
quality in university students: A randomized clinical
trial. Complement Ther Clin Pract 30: 24–28.
Norrish MIK, Dwyer KL (2005) Preliminary investigation of
the effect of peppermint oil on an objective measure of
daytime sleepiness. Int J Psychophysiol 55: 291–298.
Orzech KM, Salafsky DB, Hamilton LA (2011) The state of
sleep among college students at a large public university.
J Am Coll Health 59: 612–619.
Parveen T, Amin N, Saleem D, Razi F, Haider S, Haleem DJ
(2012) Antistress effect of Mentha piperita in rats and the
role of brain serotonin and dopamine. Asian J Pharm
Biol Res 2: 73–78.
Pattnaik S, Subramanyam V, Bapaji M, Kole C (1997)
Antibacterial and antifungal activity of aromatic
constituents of essential oils. Microbios 89: 39–46.
Raudenbush B, Grayhem R, Sears T, Wilson I (2009) Effects of
peppermint and cinnamon odor administration on
simulated driving alertness, mood and workload. N Am J
Psychol 11: 245–256.
Taher YA (2012) Antinociceptive activity of Mentha piperita
leaf aqueous extract in mice. Libyan J Med 7: 16205.
Toda M, Morimoto K (2011) Evaluation of effects of lavender
and peppermint aromatherapy using sensitive salivary
endocrinological stress markers. Stress Health 27: 430–
435.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Abdelhalim
Effect of peppermint on mental health problems
http://jppres.com/jppres
J Pharm Pharmacogn Res (2021) 9(1): 57
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTION:
Contribution
Abdelhalim AB
Concepts or ideas
x
Design
x
Definition of intellectual content
x
Literature search
x
Experimental studies
x
Data acquisition
x
Data analysis
x
Statistical analysis
x
Manuscript preparation
x
Manuscript editing
x
Manuscript review
x
Citation Format: Abdelhalim AB (2021) The effect of Mentha piperita L. on the mental health issues of university students: A pilot study. J Pharm
Pharmacogn Res 9(1): 49–57.
