PEPPERMINT.

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Us 0,>Kuties -—The whole herb (herba mentha piperita) is officinal. Itl )v a Peculiar aromatic odour, and a warm, burning, bitter taste, followedciij 4 . S(insa tion of coolness when air is drawn into the mouth. Sesqui-aron communicates a green colour ( tannate of iron) to the coldas 'on of peppermint.

0 Jii>ositi °n.—T he principal constituents are volatile oil, resin ?, a(:r Principle, tannic acid, and woody fibre.

Uin Peppermint (Oleum Mentha: piperita :) is colourless, or nearly so, sometimes

S' 1 pale yellow or greenish tint , and becoming reddish by age. It has a pene-

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tin,, r °^ our hke that of the plant, and a burning aromatic taste, followed by a sensa-0i| I'! ( j/'l ( h The vapour of it applied to the eye causes a feeling of coldness. English h \ ~ -.Peppermint is superior to that prepared on the continent. Its sp. gr. is 0 899.+ 2 1 ;1 *■ 365° F.; and consists, according to Mr. Kane, of C 25 H 22 O 2 , or 2J (Cio Hs)'lUj O). Iu a warm, dry, and favourable season, the produce of oil, from a givenhr ' llt y of the fresh herb, is double that which it yields in a wet and cold season. Theandth l” -01 ! 1106 is three drachms and a half of oil from two pounds of fresh peppermint,A/jj s iiiallest about a drachm and a half from the same quantity (Brande, Diet , ofliejjj', ed. p, 356 .) I was informed by a distiller at Mitcham, that twenty mats of the^' e ach mat containing about 1 cwt.) yields about seven lbs. of oil.

hiJ'i SIOLO( ' ICAL Effects. —Peppermint is an aromatictheT-t’ ail< l stomachic. It is the most agreeable and

htints.

or carminative,powerful of all

1 'afi SES ‘—^employed in medicine for several purposes, but princi-t<> r "\■*'° expel flatus, to cover the unpleasant taste of other medicines,Ul - Vc nausea, griping pain, and the flatulent colic of children. The°"’ing are (] le officinal preparations, with their uses :—

V f . 0/ ' £ urn Mextiije piperitje, L. E. D. —(Obtained by submittingj, t0 l( ‘di herb to distillation with water. Its physical and chemicalhave been already noticed. It is carminative and stimulant,<] 0s 1s Used occasionally as an antispasmodic. It is taken on sugar, in0 ° s °f from gtt. ii. to gtt. v.

(IV Mextiije piperitje, L. D.; Spiritus Mentha, E.—

d "dtli the Oil of Peppermint, in the same way as the Spiritvsit y ^ U£ riridis, L. D. before described. The Edinburgh College preparest ft . as: —Peppermint, fresh, lb. iss.; Proof Spirit, Ovij. Macerate forOff ''ays in a covered vessel ; add a pint and a half of water ; and distilg f ‘f V ° n Pints). A solution of the oil of peppermint in spirit may withI' ro l lr iety be substituted for the preparation of the Pharmacopoeias ,iq °f peppermint is prepared by dissolving f3i of the volatile oilVv 5 '- °i rectified spirit. Some persons add peppermint or spinachgt t es to communicate a green colour. The dose of this essence is from<U ( Xx - to gtt. xxx. on sugar. The spirit of peppermint is given in3 S from l'sss. to fjii.

th e I^oiva Mextiije piperitje, L. E.D. —(Prepared with the herb or. °f peppermint in the same way as the Aqua Mentha viridis).f 0r ( . ( 'Uutive and stimulant. Used to relieve flatulency, and as a vehiclelie -A lnu< hcines. Dose, fgi. to fgiij.mi^t Slt ^ es the above, there are several popular preparations of pepper-]if 0 Extensively used. Infusum Mentha piperita ( Peppermint Tea) isin the same way as spearmint tea.— Elaosaccharum Mentha))(% | Eh- Bor., is prepared by mixing 3i. of the whitest sugar, inrit v , tl '’ xvitli gtt. xxiv. of the oil of peppermint.— Rotula Mentha pipe-ci r i 111 plano-convex masses, called peppermint drops, —in flattened,ar disks, termed peppermint lozenges) should consist of sugar and