Peppermint Oil Capsules Benefit Those With Irritable Bowel Syndrome

by | Nov 22, 2016 | 2016, Digestive Health, Essential Oils, Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. After 4 weeks of supplementing with peppermint oil, the 35 participating subjects experienced significant improvements in digestive symptoms that included decreased abdominal pain and discomfort, decreased abdominal bloating and distention and decreased pain following bowel movements. 

digestive health - IBSIrritable bowel syndrome is a chronic functional bowel disorder characterized by flare-ups of digestive symptoms that can include abdominal pain or discomfort, abdominal bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and urgency of bowel movement 1,2. The average cost of Irritable Bowel Syndrome per patient in the United States has been estimated to be over $3,300 per year 3.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome can significantly impair quality of life by incurring high rates of absenteeism from work or school and significant healthcare costs 4. As a result, finding affordable, natural ways to help patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome is needed.

Fortunately, research now suggests that peppermint oil, known to improve digestion 5 by normalizing intestinal smooth muscle function 6 and improving inflammation 7, may be a benefit for those with inflammatory bowel disease. A 2016 study 8 involved 72 subjects (18 men, 54 women) aged 29 to 52 who met diagnostic criteria for Irritable Bowel Syndrome 9.

They received either a novel formulation of peppermint oil that contained 60% fiber and was designed to release in the small intestine (540 milligrams daily = 35 subjects) or a placebo containing 100% fiber (37 subjects) for 4 weeks. The 540 milligrams of peppermint oil contained 83 milligrams of the main component thought responsible for its health properties, L-menthol. The main outcome the researchers were analyzing is change in the Total IBS Symptom Score 1 within 24 hours after taking peppermint oil and then after 4 weeks of treatment.

At 4 weeks, those in the peppermint oil group experienced a 40 % reduction in their Total IBS Symptom Score (2.9 to 1.74) compared to a 24.3 % decrease in the placebo group (2.75 to 2.08, p = 0.0246).  In addition, the peppermint oil group had significant improvements even after 24 hours, with 19.6 % decrease in their symptom score (2.9 to 2.35) compared to 10.3% in the placebo group (2.75 to 2.48, p = 0.0092).

The symptoms that significantly improved in the peppermint oil group included abdominal pain or discomfort (p = 0.0474) for abdominal bloating or distension (p = 0.0328), and pain during bowel movements (p = 0.0336)

For the researchers, “our results demonstrated that a novel formulation of peppermint oil…was associated with a rapid and sustained symptomatic improvement in patients with non-constipated IBS” and that “This novel formulation of peppermint oil is a promising addition to the unmet need for a rapidly acting, safe, and effective pharmacotherapy for patients with non-constipated Irritable Bowel Syndrome.”

Source: Brooks D. Cash, Michael S. Epstein, Syed M. Shah. A Novel Delivery System of Peppermint Oil Is an Effective Therapy for Irritable Bowel Syndrome Symptoms. Dig Dis Sci (2016) 61:560–571; DOI 10.1007/s10620-015-3858-7

©The Author(s) 2015. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com

Click here to read full text study.

Posted November 22, 2016.

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com.

References:

  1. Cappello G, Spezzaferro M, Grossi L, Manzoli L, Marzio L. Peppermint oil (Mintoil) in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome: a prospective double blind placebo-controlled randomized trial. Digestive and liver disease : official journal of the Italian Society of Gastroenterology and the Italian Association for the Study of the Liver. 2007;39(6):530-536.
  2. Agency EM. Guideline on the Evaluation of Medicinal Products for the Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
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  6. Hawthorn M, Ferrante J, Luchowski E, Rutledge A, Wei XY, Triggle DJ. The actions of peppermint oil and menthol on calcium channel dependent processes in intestinal, neuronal and cardiac preparations. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 1988;2(2):101-118.
  7. Juergens UR, Stober M, Vetter H. The anti-inflammatory activity of L-menthol compared to mint oil in human monocytes in vitro: a novel perspective for its therapeutic use in inflammatory diseases. European journal of medical research. 1998;3(12):539-545.
  8. Cash BD, Epstein MS, Shah SM. A novel delivery system of peppermint oil is an effective therapy for irritable bowel syndrome symptoms. Dig Dis Sci. 2016;61(2):560-571.
  9. Longstreth GF, Thompson WG, Chey WD, Houghton LA, Mearin F, Spiller RC. Functional bowel disorders. Gastroenterology. 2006;130(5):1480-1491.