Peppermint Oil Treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial
Nee J, Ballou S, Kelley JM, Kaptchuk TJ, Hirsch W, Katon J, Cheng V, Rangan V, Lembo A, Iturrino J · American Journal of Gastroenterology · 2021 July 28
DOI 10.14309/ajg.0000000000001395
Objective
To compare the effects of peppermint oil vs placebo in relieving irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms in a 6-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Conclusions
The study found that both peppermint oil and placebo showed clinically meaningful improvement in IBS symptoms, with no statistically significant differences between the groups. Further large, rigorous trials are needed to evaluate the role of peppermint oil for the treatment of IBS.
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Insights
Peppermint oil and a placebo both exhibited substantial improvement in relieving symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, without any significant differences between them.
In a meticulous six-week study conducted at a single academic center in the United States, individuals diagnosed with moderate to severe irritable bowel syndrome were randomly assigned to take either enteric-coated peppermint oil or a placebo thrice daily. The study was randomized, double-blinded, and placebo-controlled, ensuring unbiased results. The main outcome measure to assess the effectivity of the treatments was the change in irritable bowel syndrome severity scores from the start of treatment to the conclusion of the six-week period.
The results revealed marked improvements in the severity of irritable bowel syndrome symptoms in both groups—from those taking peppermint oil to those on placebo—from the beginning of the regimen to the end of six weeks. Although the peppermint oil group reported a slightly less improvement than the placebo group, the difference in their results was considered insignificant. These findings remained consistent even after conducting sensitivity analyses and accommodating missing data—there were still no observable significant differences in the outcomes between the two groups.
