Mentha spicata.   留 兰 香 Liú lán xiāng  Spearmint   Family: Labiatae         
PART USED: Leaves
Nature: Warm FLAVOR: Pungent and sweet
FUNCTIONS
1. Promotes Energy circulation.[1]
2. Relieves pain.[1] Calms down the Spirits.[1]
INDICATIONS- similar to Peppermint.
1. Common cold, cough, headache.[1]
2. Abdominal pain.[1]
3. Menstrual pain.[1]
PREPARATIONS:

Decoction.
References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Constituents.    
Essential oil, of variable composition, containing carvone, about 50-70%, with dihydrocarone, limonene, and phellandrene, and to a lesser extent; menthone, menthol, pulegone, menthofuran.[1] Flavonoids; diosmin and diosmetin.[2]
References |
[1] Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients used in Food Drugs and and Cosmetics, Albert Y. Lueng. Pub. John Wiley & Sons Inc. (1980) NY
[2] Hefendehl, F.W. and Murray, M.J. (1973) Planta Med. 23, 101
[3] Murray, M.J. et al. (1972) Crop Sci. 12, 723
[4] Subramanian, S.S. and Nair, A.G.R. (1972) Phytochem 11, 452

Chemical and biological profiles of essential oils from Mentha spicata L. leaf from Bejaia in Algeria
Fatiha Brahmi, Abdenour Adjaoud, Bruno Marongiu, Danilo Falconieri, Drifa Yalaoui-Guellal, Khodir Madani
Air-dried leaves of Mentha spicata L. were collected in Bejaia location (Algeria) during 2013. The plant samples were distillated by Clevenger apparatus and the essential oils obtained were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Fifty compounds amounting to 98.9% of the oil, were identified. The major components of the oil were carvone (48.5%), limonene (20.7%), and 1,8-cineole (5.4%). This oil exhibited high antimicrobial activity with a high effectiveness against Candida albicans strain with a diameter of growth inhibition zones of ranging from 14.3 ± 1.5 to 44.3 ± 1.1 mm. The antioxidant activity determined by five different test systems showed that the oil exhibits moderate activity. The insecticidal activity has been tested on the adults of Rhyzopertha dominica F., the main pest of wheat. Contact and fumigant toxicity assays showed mortality percentages of 14.0 and 34.5% respectively at the dose of 2 µL/mL and the repellency percentage was 56.2% at 30 minutes.
Published online: 06 Jan 2016 Download citation https://doi.org/10.1080/10412905.2015.1118411 tandfonline.com

Research.   

Mentha spicata as natural analgesia for treatment of pain in osteoarthritis patients.
Mahboubi M.
Abstract
Osteoarthritis, as the major cause of chronic musculoskeletal pain, impacts people aged 45 and above. The first line analgesic treatments have reported minimal short term effects. The use of essential oils as pain killer has increased, recently. Mentha spicata, or spearmint essential oil is famous due to its anti-flatulence effects, but one less known biological activity of spearmint is its analgesic activity. The aim of our study was to confirm the analgesic effects of M. spicata essential oil. In this review, we evaluated the articles on analgesic activities of M. spicata essential oil from different relevant databases (PubMed, Science Direct, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, and Springer) without limitation up to April 30, 2016. Different animal studies have reported the analgesic effects of M. spicata essential oil and its main abundant compounds such as carvone, limonene and menthol, also, the efficacy and safety of spearmint oil in reducing of pain severity were confirmed in osteoarthritis patients. In spite of the beneficial effects of spearmint oil in reducing of pain, other large clinical trials are required to confirm the efficacy and safety of M. spicata oil.
PMID: 28107842 DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2016.11.001 Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2017 Feb;26:1-4. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2016.11.001. Epub 2016 Nov 2. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effect of spearmint (Mentha spicata Labiatae) teas on androgen levels in women with hirsutism.
Akdogan M, Tamer MN, Cüre E, Cüre MC, Köroglu BK, Delibas N.
Abstract
Mentha spicata Labiatae, known as spearmint and Mentha piperita Labiatae, known as peppermint can be used for various kinds of illnesses in herbal medicine and flavoring in industry. M. spicata Labiatae grows on the Anamas plateau of Yenithornarbademli town of Isparta, located in southwest part of Turkey. In this town, clinicians thought that consumption of tea steeped with M. spicata or M. piperita caused a diminished libido. Because antiandrogenic effects of spearmint and peppermint were found previously in rats, it was decided to observe the effect of this herbal tea on the androgen levels in hirsute women.Twenty-one female hirsute patients, 12 with polycystic ovary syndrome and 9 with idiopathic hirsutism were included to the study. They were took a cup of herbal tea which was steeped with M. spicata for 5 days twice a day in the follicular phase of their menstrual cycles. After treatment with spearmint teas, there was a significant decrease in free testosterone and increase in luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone and estradiol. There were no significant decreases in total testosterone or dehydroepiandrostenedione sulphate levels. Spearmint can be an alternative to antiandrogenic treatment for mild hirsutism. Further studies are needed to test the reliability of these results and the availability of spearmint as a drug for hirsutism.
PMID: 17310494 DOI: 10.1002/ptr.2074 Phytother Res. 2007 May;21(5):444-7. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov