Swamp mint - contraindications for use

The word "mint" comes from the Latin mentha. The name is chosen in honor of Minta, one of the nymphs, the Greek goddess of the mountain of the same name, located to the east of the ancient city of Pylos, which exists until now - it is home to about 2 thousand people. According to mythology, Minta was turned Persephone into a garden mint because of jealousy towards her husband Aida, who made Minta his concubine. So, according to the Greek epic, she "rotated" in one circle with the gods of death, but, despite this, her name became the name of a medicinal plant mint. Contraindications to its use are few, we will talk about them at the very end of the article, and the positive aspects of its "nature" amaze - they are much more.

Classification and appearance

Many of the plant varieties contain a large amount of menthol. According to the modern classification, this whole family is called the Jasnotkov. A distinctive feature of any sort of mint - a characteristic strong flavor. But the chemical composition of individual plants can differ significantly in the metabolism of volatile substances released. There is a difference in the composition in the most obvious way - through the smell.

The Latin name that mint is used for is Mentha pulegium. One of its alternative names is the flea market. The range of the variety is North Africa, East Asia, Turkmenistan, the Caucasus, and also almost the entire territory of Europe. In the Russian Federation, you can find this variety in the North Caucasus. Ecological niche - floodplain meadows, as well as banks of rivers. The height of the plant is from 20 to 60 centimeters. The stem has a branched shape, and the leaves are oblong-ovate, petiolate or elliptical. Flowers are collected in spherical rings. The calyx of the flower has denticles of triangular shape on the upper "lip", from below it has a subulate form. The crown has a pink and purple color, complemented by a white tube. The fruit is ovoid in shape, brown in color, glistening. Flowering period from July to August. Ripening period from August to September. The leaves of the plant contain 2 percent of the oil, which is 95 percent composed of piplegone, which is a yellow-green or yellow oil. Also in the composition of menthol, dipentene, limonene.

Mint. Properties. Contraindications

A lot of where mint is applied! Contraindications to use in perfumery, canning, confectionery industry are absent, what these types of industry use, applying the remarkable properties of the plant. It also aromatizes various drinks, including tea. Use the plant and as a spice. Traditional medicine has found the following applications to the plant - wound healing, care for acne prone to oily skin, as an antiseptic, for treatment of whooping cough, with bronchial asthma and as a sedative. Used in the form of a decoction or tincture.

Here is a list of the effects of mint. Contraindications, and significant, there is on the first point - dangerous abortive properties, of which will be mentioned below:

• Uterine contractions are stimulated;
• The excitability of the nervous system decreases;
• Irritated mucous membranes;
• Redness of the skin due to blood flow;
• Runny nose and cough;
• Decreased flatulence and intestinal cramps.

It should be warned about the dangers of using this type of mint to terminate pregnancy - the risk of death is great, although earlier in folk medicine it was used for this purpose. In addition, the oil from this sort of mint is very toxic and in no case should you take it inside. Violation of this recommendation can lead to severe kidney and liver damage. One of the symptoms of an overdose is jaundice. Adopt derivative plants should be given in small doses, at short intervals. If symptoms develop, stop taking it immediately. There are strict contraindications to the treatment of herbs for children under two years, but this statement is true for all herbal remedies.

An interesting fact from musical history. Probably everyone knows the famous rock band Nirvana and its legendary vocalist Kurt Cobain. So - the lyrical ballad Pennyroyal Tea, according to one version, is devoted to just such a plant as marsh moth. Contraindications did not frighten the vocalist of the grunge group - he was not a connoisseur of plants. And the musician really saved him from the pain in his stomach. In the very same song, mint, according to this version, symbolized purification.