How To Use Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) – essential oil, tea, and lore

How To Use Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) – essential oil, tea, and lore

How to Use Pennyroyal Mint

Mentha pulegium of Lamiacea

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I thought to take some time to describe a particularly “royal” member of the mint family, Pennyroyal. The pennyroyal plant is used to make pennyroyal tea, pennyroyal tincture, even sold as pennyroyal capsules, distilled into pennyroyal essential oil, and sold for gardeners in packets of pennyroyal seeds.

But what is all the fuss about this lesser known minty plant?

Of all the edible flowers and plants out there, there is one that sticks out to me as both extremely useful, and yet so feared for its potency at times that it seems people shy away from using it even though it could really help in terms of living a healthful and sustainable lifestyle. I think, just like anything with natural medicine, one must take a scientific approach before deciding one way or another on a plant being useful to them or a specimen to keep away from and simply acknowledge.

Pennyroyal Uses

One of the lesser known and most potent members of the mint family, pennyroyal is a very poignant flowering plant whose dried leaves and oil have numerous uses by people both past and present.

A member of the Lamiacea family, Pennyroyal was used as a culinary herb, folk remedy, insect repellant, and emmenagogue (or menstrual flow stimulant) among the Greco-Roman and European cultures. Frequently misunderstood, the essential oil of Pennyroyal can be used in aromatherapy, but if ingested, can be highly toxic to humans and animals affecting liver and uterine functions.

Background

Despite this fact, in the past dried leaves of Pennyroyal were actually used as a cooking herb and flavor for wines by the Greeks and Romans. Even in the Medieval Ages, the leaves were used to flavor pudding. As English settlers colonized Virginia, the herb was widely relied upon for pest eradication and as a tea that would treat many conditions and disease such as smallpox and tuberculosis.

Pennyroyal’s fame in being an amazing insect repellent back in the colonial days comes from its mint family’s famous adaptation of smelling minty. From a scientific analysis, it has been found that the mint family of plants evolved their minty smell in an effort to dissuade insects from munching on their juicy leaves. Their brilliant adaptation was to produce an aromatic molecule that would disrupt the antennae sensing abilities of insects making them disorientated and confused in their effort to find the plant. In essence, the plant sends out waves of minty aroma molecules to irradiate insects with a smell that causes them to feel disorientated, unsafe, and an urge to fly away in the other direction, thus leaving the plant alone. For people, this could be put to marvelous use in keeping bugs off of us and away from our pets and homes!

Here is a list of some common and traditional uses of Pennyroyal:

Uses

This flowering herb does have many utilities I would like to at least speak of due to its usefulness.

• Insect Repellant: I have personally used pennyroyal essential oil as a way of preventing mosquitos from biting me, as they are very prone, and have had a good amount of success. Since I wear it in a necklace diffuser, it has never bothered me, but I would recommend caution on rubbing this essential oil on the skin as if you touch or rub the oil into your mouth, it can be toxic in large enough amounts. To be safer about wearing Pennyroyal on yourself, I recommend using an essential oil necklace diffuser to prevent direct skin contact. For some high quality and crafty necklace diffusers, check out our master-craft brand Eupterrae for ideas!
• Aromatherapy: Pennyroyal has a very potent mint scent to it. This can be used in aromatherapy to help clear up a cold, flu, or mixed with a diffuser to make a place smell really, really clean. Here is my recommended pick of Pennyroyal essential oil for those looking to easily add a less common mint to their collection of household medicinal and cleaning goods.

• Pest Control: Pennyroyal is extremely useful in keeping bugs out of the house. Rub Pennyroyal essential oil on all door frames leading to the exterior, on the outside of window crevices (where windows latch shut), and on fireplaces that are open to the outside (not gas ones). The potent scent of the mint deters almost all insects due to its strong minty aroma molecules disrupting their antennae’s ability to sense the world around them. Thus, confused insects with numbed antennae naturally back away and will not enter any area that they feel is “not safe” for them. This can be handy in preventing bugs from taking up residence during the cooler months of Fall as they search for a place to ride out the winter. It is recommended you replenish the rubbings of this oil on exteriors every month that it is needed. Also, although I have used pennyroyal essential oil before to clear out some unwanted fleas brought in by my dog, I would advise caution on where you dabble it and how much. Since the oil is toxic to humans and animals, it is personally recommended that you use it only on items or in ways that no one or furry family member will lick or ingest. On animals, I recommend dabbing on the length of the back to ensure they cannot reach it. Otherwise, it really does the trick in sending those fleas packing! They can’t stand the stuff.
• Tea or Tincture: Pennyroyal mint tinctures were made and used as a reliable cold remedy for centuries as it helps to reduce fevers, relieve headaches and calm indigestion, flatulence, and grumbling in the intestines. It has also been well known that Pennyroyal mint has slimming properties that may help you to lose weight naturally. The main reason “royal” is attached to its name is because of the health providing potential that has put it on a pedestal within the mint family. Pennyroyal leaf tinctures may also help to eradicate germs, and has been used for food poisoning and for promoting the removal of toxins like uric acid from the body. In fact it is found to be particularly useful for the urinary tract, urethra, kidneys, and uterus. The highly poisonous nature of the plant makes it an antiseptic, for killing the germs or bacteria that can cause sepsis. However, this herb should be used in very mild doses internally as it is poisonous and an irritant.

A Word of Caution

Pennyroyal was used famously in the past as a menstrual flow stimulant and an abortifacient or abortion inducer. It was usually turned into a tea, or some women have even taken the essential oil down directly. This is most certainly NOT RECOMMENDED, as multiple deaths have been attributed to an overdose of this plant’s oil. When it comes to uses involving this plant’s potent oil taken internally, I cannot recommend any use other than the three listed above, for as of now I have not heard of any safe dosage amount to be used by people of this plant’s oil specifically.

Final Note

If one were to ask me about what I thought in regards to Pennyroyal, I would say that I think it is one of the most intriguing members of the mint family. Its strong scent and potency as well as the curious history it has had through its uses have made it a plant that is quite memorable. Around my home, I frequently carry a bottle of pennyroyal essential oil in my medicine cabinet since discovering it during my days of studying ethnobotany in college. I have found it to be very useful at times, and if you are a fan of natural long-lasting replacements for things such as bug spray, this might be a refreshing plant oil for you.

For more reading, there are books I recommend out there such as The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood that go in depth to the benefits and uses of essential oils.

What do you do with Pennyroyal? Tell us below!

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Original article and pictures take www.eupterrafoundation.com site