Insights & Discussion
Peppermint oil has been shown to be a safe and effective treatment for pain and overall symptoms in adults suffering from irritable bowel syndrome.
In their research, the authors conducted a systematic search across numerous scientific databases, including, but not limited to, MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, ClinicalTrials.gov, EMBASE, and Web of Science. The aim was to find randomized controlled trials that investigated the effects of peppermint oil on irritable bowel syndrome. They assessed the eligible studies using the Cochrane risk of bias tool.
The primary outcomes they concentrated on were global improvement in irritable bowel syndrome symptoms and abdominal pain. Through their intensive research, they were able to include twelve randomized trials with 835 patients. They performed a random-effects meta-analysis on the primary outcomes. Peppermint oil was found to significantly improve global symptoms and reduce abdominal pain. This demonstrated that peppermint oil could be a beneficial treatment option for irritable bowel syndrome patients.
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Peppermint oil and a placebo both exhibited substantial improvement in relieving symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, without any significant differences between them.
2021 American Journal of Gastroenterology Peppermint Oil Treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial Nee J, Ballou S, Kelley JM, Kaptchuk TJ, Hirsch W, Katon J, et al.
Randomised Controlled Trial Irritable Bowel Syndrome Peppermint Oil
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.