The mechanism of action of peppermint oil on gastrointestinal smooth muscle

Hills, Judith M.; Aaronson, Philip I.

doi:10.1016/0016-5085(91)90459-x

Cited by 226 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…The mechanism of action is thought to be from the menthol component of peppermint that causes inhibition of smooth muscle contractions by blocking calcium channels. 55 Peppermint also has a mild topical anesthetic affect and so, presumably, reduces pain locally as it is released and coats the lower intestine. 54 …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic Review of Treatments for Recurrent Abdominal Pain

Weydert

Ball²,

Davis³

2003

Pediatrics

193

100

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ABSTRACT.Objective. To conduct a systematic review of evaluated treatments for recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) in children.Methods. Online bibliographic databases were searched for the terms "recurrent abdominal pain," "functional abdominal pain," "children," or "alternative therapies" in articles classified as randomized controlled trials. The abstracts or full text of 57 relevant articles were examined; 10 of these met inclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria required that the study involve children aged 5 to 18 years, subjects have a diagnosis of RAP, and that subjects were allocated randomly to treatment or control groups. The methodology and findings of these articles were evaluated critically, and data were extracted from each article regarding study methods, specific interventions, outcomes measured, and results.Results. Studies that evaluated famotidine, pizotifen, cognitive-behavioral therapy, biofeedback, and peppermint oil enteric-coated capsules showed a decrease in measured pain outcomes for those who received the interventions when compared with others in control groups. The studies that evaluated dietary interventions had conflicting results, in the case of fiber, or showed no efficacy, in the case of lactose avoidance.Conclusions. Evidence for efficacy of treatment of RAP in children was found for therapies that used famotidine, pizotifen, cognitive-behavioral therapy, biofeedback, and peppermint oil enteric-coated capsules. The effects of dietary fiber were less conclusive, and the use of a lactose-free diet showed no improvement. There seemed to be greater improvement when therapy (famotidine, pizotifen, peppermint oil) was targeted to the specific functional gastrointestinal disorder (dyspepsia, abdominal migraine, irritable bowel syndrome). The behavioral interventions seemed to have a general positive effect on children with nonspecific RAP. Many of these therapies have not been used widely as standard treatment for children with RAP. Although the mechanism of action for each effective therapy is not fully understood, each is believed to be safe for use in RAP. Pediatrics 2003;111:e1-e11. URL: http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/ content/full/111/1/e1; recurrent abdominal pain, treatment, children, alternative therapies, systematic review.ABBREVIATIONS. RAP, recurrent abdominal pain; IBS, irritable bowel syndrome; RCT, randomized controlled trial; SPC, standard pediatric care; CBFI, cognitive-behavioral family intervention; BF, biofeedback; CBI, cognitive-behavioral intervention.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic Review of Treatments for Recurrent Abdominal Pain

Weydert

Ball²,

Davis³

2003

Pediatrics

193

100

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“…Colpermin was chosen as the antispas modic given to those on conventional man agement because previous controlled trials have shown significant benefit from the drug which appears to relax smooth muscle by Ca++ channel blockade [14][15][16][17][18], Poor results in this group of patients may be related to the fact that many in the trial had previously used other therapies including antispasmod ics but without benefit. In addition, they were given very little personal attention compared with the SMP group, most of whom had four or more 40-min sessions on a one-to-one basis with the physiotherapist.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress Management for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Controlled Trial

Shaw¹,

Srivastava²,

Sadlier

et al. 1991

Digestion

115

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Thirty-five patients with irritable bowel syndrome were randomised to receive treatment in a stress management programme or conventional therapy which included the antispasmodic Colpermin. The stress management programme involved a median of six 40-min sessions with a physiotherapist during which patients were helped to understand the nature of their symptoms, their relationship to stress and were taught relaxation exercises. Two thirds of those in the stress management programme found the programme effective in relieving symptoms and experienced fewer attacks of less severity. This benefit was maintained for at least 12 months. Few of those given conventional management had any benefit. A stress management programme would appear to be of value for patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

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“…The mechanisms of action remain to be determined. Indeed, experimental studies demonstrated the spasmolytic effects of peppermint oil and a pain-reducing effect in patients with irritable bowel syndrome [24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31]. Besides, pharmacological studies document a spasmolytic effect of STW 5-II in gastrointestinal smooth muscle and anti-inflammatory effects [36].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…So far, very little is known regarding the mechanism of action of herbals that result in an improvement of symptoms. However, from in vitro studies [31]spasmolytic and anti-inflammatory effects of the ingredients have been observed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Treatment of Functional Dyspepsia with a Herbal Preparation

Madisch¹,

Holtmann²,

Mayr³

et al. 2004

Digestion

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Background: We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of a herbal preparation STW 5-II containing extracts from bitter candy tuft, matricaria flower, peppermint leaves, caraway, licorice root and lemon balm for the treatment of patients with functional dyspepsia. Methods: 120 patients with functional dyspepsia were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatment groups. Each patient received the treatment for three consecutive 4-week treatment blocks. The first two treatment blocks were fixed. For the third treatment period, medication was based upon the investigator’s judgement of symptom improvement during the preceding treatment period. In patients without adequate control of symptoms, the treatment was switched, or if symptoms were controlled, the treatment was continued. The primary outcome measure was the improvement of a standardized gastrointestinal symptom score (GIS). Findings: During the first 4 weeks, the GIS significantly decreased in subjects on active treatment compared to the placebo (p < 0.001). During the second 4-week period, symptoms further improved in subjects who continued on active treatment or who switched to the active treatment (p < 0.001), while symptoms deteriorated in subjects who switched to placebo. After 8 weeks 43.3% on active treatment and 3.3% on placebo reported complete relief of symptoms. (p < 0.001 vs. placebo). Conclusion: In patients with functional dyspepsia, the herbal preparation tested improved dyspeptic symptoms significantly better than placebo.

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The mechanism of action of peppermint oil on gastrointestinal smooth muscle

Cited by 226 publications

References 26 publications

Systematic Review of Treatments for Recurrent Abdominal Pain

Systematic Review of Treatments for Recurrent Abdominal Pain

Stress Management for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Controlled Trial

Treatment of Functional Dyspepsia with a Herbal Preparation

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