About Mint

Mint can be a refreshing image comes to our mind and well known as mouth freshener. It is a cool herb belonging to family Lamiaceae. More than 20 species of mint including pineapple mint, ginger mint, Japanese mint, corn mint, spearmint, peppermint and horsemint, to name a few. Mint leaves are not only used for cooking, but it also can be used for medical purpose.

 

Mint leaves have very low energy with only 8kcal for ½ cup chopped leaves. It also contains 18.6g of water, 0.7g of protein, 0.2g of fat and 1g of carbohydrate. Besides, mint leaves contain minerals like 45mg calcium, 42mg potassium, 2mg sodium, 1mg phosphorus and 0.7mg iron. For vitamins, it contains 710µg carotenes, 0.1mg niacin and 25.9mg Vitamin C. All chemical composition weight is based on ½ cup of chopped mint leaves. 

Spearmint is available mainly in many Southeast Asian countries. It is widely used in toothpaste, mouthwash, chewing gums and food flavoring. In one research on chemical constituents of essential oil from spearmints, there were 47 chemical constituents found including benzene, carvone, isomenthone, piperitone, menthone and etc. A much known active constituent of mint is menthol. Menthol is always used as a flavoring agent and can be found in candies, ice-cream, chocolate, breath freshener, gums and other food products. The alcoholic component from mint is responsible to produce cooling sensation. Menthyl acetate is one of the chemical constitutes that give minty aroma.

Currently, there are many interesting studies on nutraceutical potential of mint which provide health benefits. According to International Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and Development, mint has been reported to have several pharmacological effects such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, anti-tussive, anti-cancer and analgesic. It is not difficult to plant mint especially spearmint in garden. It can give mint aroma as well as health benefits to our body.

References:

Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research, 2009

Bangladesh Journal of Scientific and industrial Research, 2007

International Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and Development, 2013

NutriWeb Malaysia