Mentha X Piperita L.

This species belongs to the family Lamiaceae and is popularly known as: peppermint, black peppermint or curly mint. It is a sterile hybrid retrieved from the junction between the Mentha aquatica L. and the Mentha spicata Crantz. This plant has a cosmopolitan distribution, and we find it in fresh and humid places of temperate climate. Due to its wealth of aromatic components, this plant is artificially grown from century XVII, when for the first time, was controlled in England. It hardly grows spontaneously, since it's a cultivated form, but when it does, we can be found at the edges of roads, meadows, water courses, etc. In the PPCC, this plant is cultivated in the Pyrenean regions. It is a perennial herbaceous plant with a height between 0,5 m (1ft 8in) and 0,9 m (2ft 11in). The herbaceous stems are quadrangular, erect, with reddish or purple spots and very branched at the top. The quadrangular section occurs due to cords of collenchyma. The leaves are herbaceous, simple, oval-lanceolate, opposite and decurrent, with a serrated margin, and stalked. The venation is pinnate, they have acute apex and they don't have stipules. They are an intense green color and, jointly with the stems, they usually present a slight hairiness. The flowers are very small, purple, hermaphrodite, and with zygomorphic symmetry. These flowers have a calyx composed of five welded sepals and a corolla formed by four lobes, which becomes more or less actinomorphic. They form inflorescences arranged in verticils form. The androecium is composed of four stamens didynamous protruding above the corolla, attached to its tube. The gynoecium is superior and is composed of two welded carpels. The fruit is a tetrachenium called nut, which may not contain seeds or contain sterile seeds. This plant reproduces, almost exclusively, by vegetative propagation from underground rhizomes, stolons or division of young plants. Flowering takes place between the months of June and September. They are pollinated by insects. The flowering tops and leaves, which contain essential oils take advantage. From these oils, obtained two main compounds: menthol (35-45%) and the menthone (15-32%). In medicine, the use of this plant is recommended against the dyspepsia, biliary disorders, respiratory disorders, stomatitis and sore throat, nausea and vomiting, dysmenorrhoea or arthritis, etc. In pharmacology, it has eupeptic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antipruritic, antispasmodic, carminative, expectorant, antitussives properties, etc. Its consumption causes a feeling of freshness in the mouth and its aroma stimulates hunger. In the manufacturing industry, these oils are used as flavoring in products such as soaps and cosmetics. And in the manufacture of toothpastes, oral elixirs, syrups, etc. In cuisine, it is consumed in the form of infusion. Also used as a flavoring in ice cream, chewing gum and candies. I as a condiment in salads, soups, meats, etc. There are even a variety of liqueurs prepared with mint.