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Comment by r0ze-at-hn | Hacker News Reader

So spearmint is not peppermint. Peppermint (mentha pipereta in this study) inhibits CYP3A4 and CYP1A2. CYP1A2 is in the liver and if that is inhibited then estrogen will route down the CYP1B1 path so the ratio of the two metabolites 2-OHE1 v.s 4-OHE1 would be altered. For the PCOS (renamed to PMOS btw) if they start with elevated 2-OHE1 after the peppermint this could result in improve estrogen signaling because the now raised 4-OHE1 has much higher affinity than the 2-OHE1 for ESR1 (Era). ESR1 in particular is known for lowering blood pressure.

This particular path isn't that crazy, but it would only be for a subset of folk. From the study there is something simpler: menthol acts as a natural calcium-channel blocker, triggering vasodilation to reduce blood pressure.

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There is something to aromatherapy. Essential oils are full of molecules that look like drugs and bind to GPCR receptors in the nose that head to the brain and have all sorts of effects, even if these molecules don't transport well in the body or cross the blood-brain barrier.

Peppermint as a scent is usually thought of as stimulating, raising heart rate and blood pressure. The lore, with some research supporting it, is that other oils that are more sedating can bring down blood pressure if you use them, say, in a diffuser.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3521421/

I find the sensuality of Ylang Ylang to be distracting so I mixed in Lavender and got this wonderful floral smell that filled my office but an hour later I notice the sedation and I am nodding off and can't concentrate on work at all. It was like the scene in the Wizard of Oz where the Wicked Witch of the West put (most of) the protagonists to sleep with a field of scarlet poppies.

I thought I wrote this are first! This is how I think through things as well with Nutritional Genomics. However, the pathway is probably not the cause for the lower blood pressure. The tea is very high in Epicatechin gallate which is most likely reason for the lower blood pressure.

http://phenol-explorer.eu/contents/food/869

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jch.70036

https://academic.oup.com/chemse/article-abstract/40/1/27/290...

Menthol is wild.

Lightly edited from Wikipedia:

"Menthol's [agonism of] the cold-sensitive Transient Receptor Potential cation channel subfamily M (melastatin) member 8 or TRPM8 receptors is responsible for the well-known cooling sensation it provokes.

Menthol's analgesic properties are mediated through a selective activation of κ-opioid receptors. Menthol blocks calcium channels and voltage-sensitive sodium channels, reducing neural activity that may stimulate muscles.

Some studies show that menthol acts as a GABAᴀ receptor positive allosteric modulator and increases GABAergic transmission in PAG neurons."

…and! Check this out:

"Menthol has anesthetic properties similar to though less potent than propofol, interacting with the same sites on the GABAᴀ receptor."

Propofol. PROPOFOL. The -ol in propofol is the -ol in menthol, haha.

"Menthol may also enhance the activity of glycine receptors and negatively modulate 5-HT3 receptors and nAChRs."

Aaaaand:

"Menthol also lowers blood pressure and antagonizes vasoconstriction through TRPM8 activation."

many things are wild, just menthol has been studied for the past 50yrs

Well said!!

My point was exactly the hope to indicate how much knowledge there exists. That's the truly wild thing. Or yeah, how unread most of it lays.

Peppermint is even more wild becasue while Menthol is a TRPM8 agonist (cold sensation), ECGC, also very high in peppermint, is a TRPV1 agonist (warm sensation), which has the opposite effect of TRPM8.

The EGCG is probably what is reducing the blood pressure.

Transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 is vital for (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate mediated activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mnfr.201400699

Cardioprotective and Anti-Hypertensive Effects of Epigallocatechin Gallate: Novel Insights Into Biological Evidence

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jch.70036

Anything with EGCG in it causes me extreme bladder pain, even peppermint tea. While taking tons of Ricola cough drops (high in mentol) once when I had covid I found my bladder pain vanished. I then learned how the TRPV1 receptor is involved in my bladder pain.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-24056-0

Exploding-head emoji reaction here, both generally and specifically. Thank you.

I'm familiar with drug interaction monographs and enjoy reading them. And I am somewhat comfortable with the organ/body functional pathways (I think that's what it's called) -- where can someone view/look at different pathways of the body as a resource?

Fuck.

This is what I sound like when I talk about analogue electronics, isn't it?

Thing is I know I could look all those terms up and learn enough to be dangerous in a subject you're clearly very good at.

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