What are the medicinal values ​​of mint?

Many people have seen mint in daily life. The smell of mint is very clear and pleasant. Fresh mint can also be processed to make mint tea or mint candy, which tastes very refreshing and pleasant. Mint also has the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying, which is very good for the human body. Mint has many uses. After picking and drying, it can also repel mosquitoes. So what are the medicinal values ​​of mint? Let us take a look at it together below.

Mint has a strong aroma and a refreshing feel, and has always been loved by people. It has a fragrant smell and is non-toxic. The Newly Revised Compendium of Materia Medica lists it in the vegetable section and states that it "can also be eaten raw." Many of the current throat-clearing and throat-moistening medicines or foods also contain mint.

Peppermint is pungent and cool in nature, and enters the lung and liver meridians. "Compendium of Materia Medica" states: "Peppermint is pungent and dispersing, cool and clearing, and is specialized in dispelling wind and heat." Peppermint has the effects of dispersing wind-heat, clearing the head and eyes, relieving the throat, and soothing the liver and relieving depression. It is mainly used in the following three aspects clinically:

It is used for wind-heat exterior syndrome. Both exogenous wind-heat and the initial stage of febrile disease may have symptoms of wind-heat exterior syndrome, mainly fever, slight aversion to wind and cold, no sweat or poor sweating, headache, thirst and sore throat, floating and rapid pulse, etc. Peppermint is pungent and cool and can penetrate and disperse external pathogens, clear away external heat, so it is used to treat wind-heat external symptoms. Although this product is pungent and cool in nature, it has a strong dispersing power and a certain diaphoretic effect. Therefore, it is particularly suitable for those with wind-heat exterior syndrome with no sweat or with poor sweating. "Medical Records of Combining Chinese and Western Medicine" says: "Taking it can induce cool sweat, and it is an important medicine for treating febrile diseases with sweat." In clinical practice, it is often used together with honeysuckle, forsythia, and schizonepeta, such as Yinqiao Powder, a representative prescription for treating wind-heat colds.

Peppermint has the effect of lightly dispersing and clearing away the exterior pathogens, helping the rash to break out. It can also be used for the initial stage of measles, or for patients with wind-heat rash that is not smooth on the surface of the muscles. It is often used together with Schizonepeta, Burdock Seed, Forsythia, etc.

Used for various diseases of the head, face and five sense organs. The head, face and five sense organs belong to the upper part of the human body. Wind is light and upward in nature. Wind-heat or wind-cold evil can easily attack the head and face, causing symptoms such as headache, red and swollen eyes, nasal congestion and runny nose, toothache, sore throat, etc. Peppermint has a light and floating effect, and can clear the head and relieve the throat. In the Ming Dynasty's Compendium of Materia Medica, Li Shizhen said in the section on mint: "Therefore, it is an important medicine for headaches, head winds, eye, throat, and dental diseases." When headaches are caused by wind-heat, mint is often used with chrysanthemum and angelica to treat headaches; wind-heat or evil heat can cause throat pain, hoarseness, etc. Mint is a commonly used medicine for treating sore throat and can be used together with platycodon, licorice, etc.; mint is aromatic and pungent and can clear the nasal passages. For example, it can be used together with Xanthium sibiricum, magnolia, angelica, etc. to treat sinusitis, yellow and turbid nasal discharge, and nasal congestion.

It is used for the syndrome of liver depression and qi stagnation. The liver is responsible for dispersing qi, and the liver qi should be smooth and comfortable. If due to emotional frustration or invasion of pathogenic factors, the liver meridian is blocked, causing the liver qi to fail to flow freely, liver qi stagnation syndrome will occur. Clinical manifestations include fullness and pain in the chest and flanks, depression, sighing (Editor's note: frequent sighing and a feeling of comfort after sighing), or a foreign body sensation in the throat. Women may also experience breast pain, irregular menstruation, and dysmenorrhea. Mint can soothe the liver and relieve depression, and can be used to treat liver depression and qi stagnation syndrome. "New Edition of Materia Medica" says: "Mint is not only good at relieving wind evil, but also good at relieving depression." For mild symptoms, mint can relieve depression, while for severe cases, it can be used as an auxiliary medicine such as bupleurum to achieve the desired effect. For example, the famous prescription Xiaoyao Powder uses mint, together with bupleurum and white peony root.

In addition, this product has a fragrant aroma that can ward off foul smells, and can also be used to treat symptoms such as sha-swollen abdomen, vomiting and diarrhea caused by the heat, dampness and foul air in summer. It is often used together with Patchouli, Cymbidium orchioides, and Lablab lentils.

In addition to taking it internally, mint can also be used externally for summer prickly heat, insect bites, boils, etc. It will give you a cool and comfortable feeling after use. Mint is also often used in dishes, pastries and beverages, and is a common food therapy product. Zan Yin's "Food and Medicine Mirror" said: "Peppermint can be boiled in fermented black beans and mixed with warm wine to drink, or boiled in tea and eaten raw. It is a beneficial vegetable." In modern times, aromatic oil obtained by distilling fresh mint stems is also used. The prescriptions often call it "peppermint ice" or "peppermint frost", and its function is similar to that of mint.

The above article is a detailed introduction to the medicinal value of mint. I believe that after reading this, all friends have a deeper understanding of the medicinal value of mint. Mint is a herbal plant with a very mild texture. It can be used as medicine and is very good for the body. The taste of mint is also very refreshing and pleasant. It can also be made into mint perfume, which can achieve the effect of refreshing.