Witnessed by: Western · Unani
Spearmint (Mentha spicata), of the Lamiaceae (Labiatae) family. Erect, bright green, nearly hairless perennial spreading by runners, with stalkless sharply toothed lance-shaped leaves and slender flower-spikes; native range: Europe and the Mediterranean; the common garden and kitchen mint, naturalised the world over. Globally recognized as garden mint, lamb mint, mackerel mint, spire mint in English, na'na in Arabic, and pudina in Urdu. The part used is leaves and flowering tops (aerial parts). Fresh, sweet and warm — the clean carvone scent of garden mint, with none of the cold menthol bite of peppermint; the taste is gentle and slightly sweet.
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.
SPEARMINT
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Spearmint
- Scientific name
- Mentha spicata L.
- Family
- Lamiaceae (Labiatae)
Form
- Part used
- leaves and flowering tops (aerial parts)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- aromatic · sweet, faintly pungent
- Unani
- aromatic · pungent, mild and sweetish
Temperature
- Western
- warm (hot & dry, 2nd degree — milder than peppermint)
- Unani
- hot (har-yabis, hot & dry in the 2nd degree, gentle)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- stomach · digestion · nerves
- Unani
- stomach · liver · intestines
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- carminative, stomachic, antispasmodic, antiemetic, diaphoretic — gentle and well suited to children
- Unani
- muqawwi-e-meda (stomach tonic), hazim (digestive), kaasir-e-riyah (carminative), habis-e-qai (checks vomiting), mufarreh-e-qalb (cardiac exhilarant), mushtahi (appetiser)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- generally very safe; avoid large medicinal oil doses in pregnancy
- Toxicity
- no significant toxicity in food or tea amounts; the concentrated oil may irritate if overused
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