462 Handbook of herbs and spices
Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Russia, and Switzerland, and the European
Pharmacopoeia.
28.2.3 Economic aspects
The peppermint plant and its many parts are used throughout the world in many
different ways and for diverse purposes. The production of peppermint oil by distillation
of the cultivated herb is an extensive industry in the United States and around the
world. Cultivation of the plant is required because the plants found in the wild are not
suitable for the distillation process and the cultivated plants contain much more and
better quality oil. The United States is the leading producer of peppermint oil in the
world, with Michigan, California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Indiana, and Wisconsin
leading the way. Peppermint oil is used as a flavouring agent in many different
products including decongestants, mouthwashes, chewing gum, toothpastes, and other
mint flavoured candies and breath-freshening products. Peppermint oil can cause
burning and gastrointestinal upset in some people. Peppermint tea, made from the
dry leaves of the peppermint plant, is considered safer than peppermint oil for regular
consumption. Peppermint tea has antiseptic properties and is considered a stimulant.
It is effective in treating digestive pains caused by gas, colic, gallstones, gingivitis,
irritable bowel syndrome, morning sickness, headaches, sore throats, common colds,
fevers, insomnia, nervous tension, and it may also increase flow of bile from the gall-
bladder.
In Germany, peppermint leaf is one of the most economically important individual
herbs. It is licensed as a standard medicinal tea, is official in the German pharmacopoeia,
and approved in the Commission E monographs (leaf and oil). It is used as a mono-
preparation and also as a component of many cholagogue, bile-duct, gastrointestinal,
and liver remedies, and some hypnotic/sedative drugs (Wichtl and Bisset, 1994). In
the United States, peppermint leaf is used singly and as a main component of a wide
range of digestive, common cold, and decongestant dietary supplement and OTC
drug products, in fluid and solid dosage forms. Peppermint leaf and peppermint oil
are official in the U.S. National Formulary (Briggs, 1993; Tyler et al., 1988).
28.3 Cultivation and production.............................................................
Peppermint essential oil is of great economic value; however, the cultivation and the
production of essential oil are limited by agricultural and environmental factors, the
presence of specific pathogens, and by differences in comparative costs (Maffei,
1999). Based on a literature survey, some of the factors affecting essential oil production
of M. piperita in India have been discussed by Baslas (1970). These factors include
type of soil, climate, altitude, fertilizers and drying conditions.
28.3.1 Soil and climate
Peppermint adopts itself well to a wide range of soil and climatic conditions but it
thrives best in a fairly cool, preferably moist climate, and in deep soils rich in humus
and retentive of moisture but fairly open in texture and well drained, either naturally
or artificially. It can be profitably cultivated in plains as well as foothill areas having
a sub-tropical climate. For peppermint cultivation, a rich and friable soil, retentive of