Efficacy and function of menthol
Apr 30, 2021
According to the records in the newly revised Materia Medica, mint is pungent in taste, cool in nature, and belongs to the lung and liver meridians. To disperse wind heat, clear head, clear throat, clear rash, soothe liver and promote qi. It is considered that it has the effect of cooling and evacuation, and can also treat headache and vertigo caused by wind heat attack. Because of its fragrance, it can be used with honeysuckle, Elsholtzia and other drugs to treat heat stroke caused by summer heat and humidity.
The strong pungent smell of peppermint comes from a large amount of volatile oil, which contains menthol, menthone, menthol, menthol ester and other components. These ingredients not only make peppermint have charming fragrance, but also have antiviral, bactericidal, soothing nerve, helping sleep and other functions.
Menthol in peppermint is the key substance to make it have magical cool feeling. There is a TRPM8 (cmr1) receptor, also known as cold and menthol receptor 1, in the "cold receptor" that receives cool sensation. It is an ion channel receptor, which is activated under the stimulation of low temperature or menthol, and then transmits the "cold" signal to the temperature sensing center of cerebral cortex, so that we can feel cool.
