Witnessed by: Western · Unani
Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium), of the Lamiaceae (Labiatae) family. Low, prostrate or ascending perennial spreading in mats, with small oval leaves and dense whorls of lilac flowers ringing the stem at each node; native range: Europe, the Mediterranean, western Asia and north Africa; on damp, seasonally flooded ground and grazed commons. Globally recognized as pudding grass, run-by-the-ground, lurk-in-the-ditch, organ tea in English, fudanj, fotanj in Arabic, and fudanj, podina kohi in Urdu. The part used is leaves and flowering herb (aerial parts); the essential oil (with grave caution). A far sharper, more acrid pungency than the culinary mints — a penetrating, almost harsh mint-and-turpentine scent from its high pulegone.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
PENNYROYAL
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Pennyroyal
- Scientific name
- Mentha pulegium L.
- Family
- Lamiaceae (Labiatae)
Form
- Part used
- leaves and flowering herb (aerial parts); the essential oil (with grave caution)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- pungent · acrid · aromatic
- Unani
- pungent · acrid
Temperature
Western: hot (hot & dry, 3rd degree — Culpeper)
Unani: hot (har-yabis, hot & dry in the 3rd degree)
convergence: both {witness_count} witnesses set it among the hottest, driest of the mints
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- uterus · digestion · nerves
- Unani
- uterus · stomach · intestines
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- emmenagogue (strong), stimulant, carminative, diaphoretic, antispasmodic, and a reputed abortifacient
- Unani
- mudirr-e-haiz (emmenagogue), mukhrij-e-janeen wa mashima (expels fetus and afterbirth), kaasir-e-riyah (carminative), mohallil (resolvent), muqatti-e-balgham (phlegm-cutter), mufatteh-e-sudad (deobstruent)
Cautions
Contraindications: pregnancy absolutely; existing liver or kidney disease; children
Toxicity: the volatile oil is a dangerous hepato- and nephrotoxin — its pulegone is converted to the toxin menthofuran, which depletes liver glutathione; abortifacient doses have caused fatal liver failure, seizures and death. The leaf tea is far milder but the oil is lethal in small amounts.
Interactions
- Western
- hepatotoxic drugs: pulegone and its reactive metabolite deplete glutathione and add to hepatocellular injury
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