Herb library · Herb · Mentha spicata
Spearmint
The everyday garden mint of teas, gum and toothpaste. Small studies have looked at spearmint tea for unwanted hair growth in women with high androgen levels, and at special extracts for knee pain and memory; all are early findings.
Traditional use
A European herb now grown widely for its oil and for the kitchen. In 19th-century American medicine it was considered milder than peppermint and used for scanty urine, fevers and simple nausea. Today it is mostly a flavoring and a tea; it is also sold as a tea for women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and hirsutism.
Traditional energetics
Galenic (hot or cold, dry or moist)
Hot and dry in the third degree. Culpeper's Complete Herbal (1814), p. 241 (opens in a new tab)
What studies show
- Limited
Excess hair growth and androgens in women: in a 5-day study of 21 women and a 30-day trial of 42 women with PCOS, spearmint tea twice a day lowered free testosterone. In the trial women rated their hair growth as reduced, but the doctor-rated hair score did not change; the author says longer studies are needed.
- Limited
Knee osteoarthritis: in a 16-week trial of 62 people, a spearmint tea bred to be high in rosmarinic acid lowered pain within its group, and both teas improved stiffness; the groups did not differ significantly from each other.
- Limited
Memory in older adults with age-related memory complaints: a 90-person, 90-day trial of a spearmint extract found some improvement in working memory at the higher dose. The authors were employed or funded by the extract's maker.
Be careful of
Cautions
- NoteSpearmint is generally recognized as safe as a flavoring. In a 90-day trial, an extract at 600 or 900 mg a day caused no more side effects than placebo.
- InteractionIn the tea studies it changed sex-hormone levels in women (lower free testosterone, higher LH and FSH). Anyone on hormone therapy, or trying to conceive, should ask a clinician before drinking it daily as a remedy.
- AllergyAllergic skin reactions to spearmint have been reported.
- Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.
From the old books
What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.
“It has a strong, peculiar, aromatic odor, and an aromatic, faintly bitter taste, followed by coolness in the mouth during inhalation.”
In scripture
Where the Bible names this plant, and which plant scholars think is meant.
But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, but you bypass justice and God’s love. You ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.
A mint, which is not in doubt; which mint is. Tristram (1898) names the common wild mint of the country, Mentha sylvestris (horse mint), and says other species grew wild and in gardens; spearmint is a close relative, not necessarily the plant meant. H. B. Tristram, The Natural History of the Bible (1898), p. 471 (opens in a new tab)
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.
A mint, which is not in doubt; which mint is. Tristram (1898) names the common wild mint of the country, Mentha sylvestris (horse mint); spearmint is a close relative, not necessarily the plant meant. H. B. Tristram, The Natural History of the Bible (1898), p. 471 (opens in a new tab)
Sources
- Spearmint herbal tea has significant anti-androgen effects in polycystic ovarian syndrome. A randomized controlled trial (Phytother Res, 2010) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Effect of spearmint (Mentha spicata Labiatae) teas on androgen levels in women with hirsutism (Phytother Res, 2007) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- High-rosmarinic acid spearmint tea in the management of knee osteoarthritis symptoms (J Med Food, 2014) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Spearmint Extract Improves Working Memory in Men and Women with Age-Associated Memory Impairment (J Altern Complement Med, 2018) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Safety and tolerability of a dried aqueous spearmint extract (Regul Toxicol Pharmacol, 2017) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Allergic contact dermatitis from Mentha spicata (spearmint) (Contact Dermatitis, 2001) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.