Aarya Aroma-Corn Mint Oil

Traditional Uses:

Corn Mint is present in home gardens since very long time and natives and traditional healers are using it as medicine. The plant grows happily in the mid mountain region and flourises well in the low lands of Nepal.These days it is cultivated in Nepal hilly regions between 1,500-3,000 m altitude. The herb is often used as a domestic herbal remedy, being valued especially for its antiseptic properties and its beneficial effect on the digestion and is traditionally been used in the treatment of fevers, headaches, digestive disorders and various minor ailments.

According to Ayurveda, Pudina is expectorant, emmenagogue, tonic to kidneys, useful in liver and spleen diseases, asthma and pains in joints etc. It is applied externally on ringworm and eczema. Also it is recommended for the patients having the problem of migraine. Applied externally in painful parts, it stops the intense pain immediately.

The Chutney prepared by natives of Terrai region of Nepal in hot summer days using Pudina herb is very popular. The fresh leaves are crushed and by adding salt and other spices, aqueous paste is prepared. This paste is known as "Pudina ko Achar" and it is served with meals. The natives use it both for taste and health.

Many Mint based mouth freshers are available in market. Pudina is in use as mouth fresher since generations. The traditional healers form the low lands of Nepal prepare a decoction by boiling the leaves in water and gargle with this decoction to get rid from bad-breath. This decoction very promising in treatment of Tonsilitis. Its regular use during actue Tonsilitis, delays the next attack to great extent. The decoction is used in another way also. During the preparation of decoction, the vapour coming out from solution is considered beneficial for the patients having the problem of coryza and cough.

Corn Mint essential oil is obtained by steam distillation from the aerial parts of Mentha arvensis

1. Organoleptic Properties:

Appearance: Slightly thick liquid

Color: Colorless to light yellow

Aroma: bitter sweet minty

2. Physico - Chemical Properties:

Specific Gravity: 0.880 to 0.910 at 20° C

Optical Rotation: (-) 15° to (-) 42° at 20° C

Refractive Index: 1.458 to 1.470 at 20º C

Acid No: 0.3 to 5

Ester No: 210 to 255

Ester No after acetylation: 70%-88%

Solubility: Soluble in 1.2 to 2.5 vol. of 70% alcohol

3. Packing:

Aluminum containers and epoxy-lined metallic barrels

500g, 1 kg, 5 kg, 10 kg, 50 kg, 100 kg, capacities

4. Principal Constituents: Menthol, menthone and menthyl acetate, mostly

composed of limonene (90%) and citral (5%) plus traces of citronellal,

a-terpineol, linalyl and geranyl acetate.

5. Uses:

a) In perfumes and flavors

b) Aroma therapeutic uses:

Skin care: Good for Acne, oily eczema, dermatis, hair loss, oily complexions,

skin toner, seborrhea of scalp. Rheumatic pain, anxiety, insomnia, stress, cellulites.

Preventative of ticks and fleas. Employed in fragrance component in soaps,

detergents, cosmetics and perfumes. Spicy fragrances and after shaves.

c) May be slightly irritating, non-toxic. Must not be used during pregnancy.

Should not be used by those with kidney disease due to its nephrotoxic effect.

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References

Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5

Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

Simons. New Vegetable Growers Handbook. Penguin 1977 ISBN 0-14-046-050-0

A good guide to growing vegetables in temperate areas, not entirely organic.

Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962

A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. Companion Plants. Watkins 1979

Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.

Riotte. L. Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. Garden Way, Vermont, USA. 1978 ISBN 0-88266-064-0

Fairly good.

Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2

Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

Baines. C. Making a Wildlife Garden. 0

Fairly good with lots of ideas about creating wildlife areas in the garden.

Lawless, J. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils - The Complete Guide to the Use of Oils in Aromatherapy and Herbalism, Element, Shaftesbury, 1995

Medicinal Plants of Nepal, His Majesty's Government of Nepal, Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation, Department of Plant Resources, 6th Edition, Kathmandu, 2001