MENTHA PIPERITA (PEPPERMINT) OIL || Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Reviews

MENTHA PIPERITA (PEPPERMINT) OIL

Fragrance Ingredient; Skin-Conditioning Agent - Miscellaneous

SCORE

	3	moderate hazard
	73%	data gap
(why scores have changed)

Also listed as

MENTHA OIL; MENTHA PIPERITA OIL; OIL OF PEPPERMINT; PEPPERMINT OIL; OILS, PEPPERMINT; PEPPERMINT OIL; PEPPERMINT OIL; PEPPERMINT TERPENES; PFEFFERMINZ OEL (GERMAN)

Given the incomplete information made available by companies and the government, EWG provides additional information on personal care product ingredients from the published scientific literature. The chart below indicates that research studies have found that exposure to this ingredient -- not the products containing it -- caused the indicated health effect(s) in the studies reviewed by Skin Deep researchers. Actual health risks, if any, will vary based on the level of exposure to the ingredient and individual susceptibility -- information not available in Skin Deep.

This ingredient:
	Cancer
	Developmental/reproductive toxicity
	Violations, restrictions & warnings
	Allergies/immunotoxicity
	Contamination concerns - LIMONENE, MENTHOL, MENTHONE
	Other strong concerns for this ingredient: Enhanced skin absorption
	Lesser or emerging concerns for this ingredient: Neurotoxicity, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
	See products containing MENTHA PIPERITA (PEPPERMINT) OIL

About MENTHA PIPERITA (PEPPERMINT) OIL: Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil is a volatile oil obtained from the plant Mentha piperita. See"Regulatory and Ingredient Use Information," regarding the labeling names for botanical ingredients inVolume 1, Introduction, Part A.

MENTHA PIPERITA (PEPPERMINT) OIL has reported used in the following product types: lip balm (50); lip gloss (41); shampoo (40); toothpaste (31); exfoliant/scrub (31); facial moisturizer/treatment (27); moisturizer (27); foot moisturizer (25); facial cleanser (25); body wash/cleanser (24)

Neurotoxicity

type of concern

product conditions

reference

One or more animal studies show brain and nervous system effects at moderate doses

RTECS^®- Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 1965

Violations, restrictions & warnings

type of concern	product conditions	reference
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications		Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Cancer

type of concern	product conditions	reference
One or more in vitro tests non-mammalian cells show positive mutation results		RTECS^®- Tokishikoroji Foramu 1985

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

type of concern

product conditions

reference

One or more animal studies show respiratory effects at moderate doses (low dose studies may be unavailable for this ingredient)

products that may be aerosolized (airborne)

RTECS^®- Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 1965

Enhanced skin absorption

type of concern	product conditions	reference
Penetration enhancer		Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Data gaps

type of concern	product conditions	reference
110 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical see search results ->		PubMed

Ecotoxicology

type of concern	product conditions	reference
Not suspected to be an environmental toxin		Environmental Canada Domestic Substance List

Multiple, additive exposure sources

type of concern	product conditions	reference
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food		FDA Everything Added to Food

Persistence and bioaccumulation

type of concern

product conditions

reference

Not suspected to be persistent

Environmental Canada Domestic Substance List

Government, industry, academic studies and classifications

government/industry list/academic study	appears on list as	classification(s)
Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments	MENTHA PIPERITA (PEPPERMINT) OIL	•Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications •Restrictions on impurities recommended by industry safety panel •Penetration enhancer - alters skin structure, allows other chemicals to penetrate deeper into the skin
Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments	PEPPERMINT (MENTHA PIPERITA) OIL	•Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications •Restrictions on impurities recommended by industry safety panel •Penetration enhancer - alters skin structure, allows other chemicals to penetrate deeper into the skin
FDA Everything Added to Food	PEPPERMINT, OIL (MENTHA PIPERITA L.)	• Fully up-to-date toxicology information has been sought.
Environmental Canada Domestic Substance List	OILS, PEPPERMINT	•This chemical was NOT flagged by CEPA for further attention. The chemical was flagged for as a low human health priority.
IFRA Fragrance Ingredient List	PEPPERMINT OIL	•The chemical has been reported as used in fragrance compounds by IFRA affiliated member companies in 2008.
RTECS^®- Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 1965	MENTHA PIPERITA (PEPPERMINT) OIL	• brain and nervous system - Ataxia (rat LD50) • brain and nervous system - Convulsions or effect on seizure threshold (rat LD50) • brain and nervous system - Muscle contraction or spasticity (rat LD50) • respiratory - Respiratory depression (rat LD50)
RTECS^®- Tokishikoroji Foramu 1985	MENTHA PIPERITA (PEPPERMINT) OIL	• broad systemic - Broad systemic toxicity (mouse LD50) • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: DNA repair (Bacillus subtilis )
RTECS^®- Tokishikoroji Foramu 1985	MENTHA PIPERITA (PEPPERMINT) OIL	• mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: DNA repair (Bacillus subtilis )
RTECS^®- Toxicology Letters 1992	MENTHA PIPERITA (PEPPERMINT) OIL	• kidney or renal system - Changes in tubules (including acute renal failure, acute tubular (rat TDLo) • brain and nervous system - Other degenerative changes (rat TDLo)

references

government/industry list/academic study	reference
Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments	CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
FDA Everything Added to Food	FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). 2008. EAFUS [Everything Added to Food]: A Food Additive Database. FDA Office of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
Environmental Canada Domestic Substance List	EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
IFRA Fragrance Ingredient List	IFRA (International Fragrance Assocication). 2010. IFRA Fragrance Ingredient List based on 2008 Use Survey. Accessed online 01/04/2010: http://www.ifraorg.org/Home/News/Latest-News/page.aspx/66?xf_itemId=43&xf_selectionDatapartId=25
RTECS^®- Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 1965	RTECS^®- Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. (American Pharmaceutical Assoc., 2215 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20037) V.50- 1961- 54,1071,1965
RTECS^®- Tokishikoroji Foramu 1985	RTECS^®- Tokishikoroji Foramu. Toxicology Forum. (Saiensu Foramu, c/o Kida Bldg., 1-2-13 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113, Japan) V.6- 1983- 8,91,1985
RTECS^®- Tokishikoroji Foramu 1985	RTECS^®- Tokishikoroji Foramu. Toxicology Forum. (Saiensu Foramu, c/o Kida Bldg., 1-2-13 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113, Japan) V.6- 8,91,1985
RTECS^®- Toxicology Letters 1992	RTECS^®- Toxicology Letters. (Elsevier Science Pub. B.V., POB 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands) V.1- 1977- 62,215,1992

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