Bo He
StarMentha canadensis
Synonyms: Clinopodium purpureum, Mentha arvensis var. pavoniana, Mentha glabrior, Mentha arvensis var. schmitzii, Mentha haplocalyx subsp. austera, Mentha haplocalyx var. barbata, Mentha arvensis f. lanigera, Mentha lanata, Mentha haplocalyx var. piperascens, Mentha sachalinensis var. arguta, Mentha arvensis var. haplocalyx, Mentha arvensis var. lanata, Mentha arvensis subsp. canadensis, Mentha arvensis var. sachalinensis, Mentha arvensis f. brevipilosa, Mentha arvensis subsp. haplocalyx, Mentha trachiloma, Mentha haplocalyx f. alba, Mentha canadensis var. borealis, Mentha arvensis f. lanata, Mentha arvensis var. javanica, Mentha canadensis var. glabrior, Mentha arvensis subsp. piperascens, Mentha sachalinensis f. pilosa, Mentha canadensis var. lanata, Mentha canadensis var. villosa, Mentha hakka, Mentha terebinthinacea, Mentha glauca var. parvifolia, Mentha arvensis var. borealis, Mentha arvensis var. canadensis, Mentha haplocalyx var. sachalinensis, Mentha canadensis var. piperascens, Mentha haplocalyx, Mentha arvensis var. occidentalis, Mentha arvensis var. penardii, Mentha haplocalyx subsp. pavoniana, Mentha arvensis f. pedunculata, Mentha arvensis subsp. borealis, Mentha canadensis var. glabrata, Mentha arvensis var. glabra, Mentha disperma, Mentha ciliata, Mentha canadensis var. retrorsa, Mentha javanica, Mentha arvensis f. glabrata, Hedeoma purpurea, Micromeria purpurea, Mentha borealis, Mentha arvensis f. puberula, Mentha sachalinensis, Mentha pedunculata, Mentha arvensis f. glabra, Mentha penardii, Mentha canadensis var. sachalinensis, Mentha canadensis subsp. lanata, Mentha haplocalyx var. pilosa, Mentha canadensis var. mexicana, Mentha haplocalyx var. nipponensis, Mentha canadensis f. pilosa, Mentha arvensis var. barbata, Mentha occidentalis, Mentha canadensis subsp. borealis, Mentha arvensis f. chinensis, Mentha glauca, Satureja purpurea, Mentha arvensis var. piperascens, Mentha sachalinensis f. arguta, Mentha arvensis var. zollingeri
Traditionally used for
- Headaches
- Eye health
- Nose & throat
- Colds & fever
- Digestion
- Mood & calm
- Pain & joints
- Skin
Cautions & contraindications
- Young children
☯ TCM Properties
Disperses Wind-Heat, cools and clears the head and eyes and benefits the throat; Vents rashes; Relieves Stagnation of Liver Qi; Expels turbid filth
Traditional Chinese Uses
Bo He (peppermint herb) is a light, cool, acrid herb that disperses Wind-Heat, clears the head and eyes, and smooths the flow of Liver Qi. As an exterior-releasing herb, it addresses fever with mild chills, headache, sore throat, and red eyes in Wind-Heat patterns. Its affinity for the Liver makes it appropriate for emotional irritability and Qi stagnation with hypochondriac pain. Its cooling menthol quality also soothes throat and skin irritation.
Western Herbalism Properties
Used In Formulas (6)
Relationships
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Gallery
Botanical Description
Mentha canadensis is a perennial aromatic herb with creeping rhizomes, growing 15-60 cm tall. Stems are square, erect to decumbent. Leaves are opposite, ovate to lanceolate, 3-7 cm long, toothed, and aromatic. Like M. arvensis, flowers are borne in dense whorls in the leaf axils (not in terminal spikes). Flowers are small, pale lavender to white. The plant contains high concentrations of menthol and is one of the primary sources of natural menthol used commercially. This species is now recognized as the standard botanical source for the TCM herb Bo He.
Moist meadows, stream banks, lake shores, and wetland margins; native to North America and northeastern Asia, found throughout temperate regions.
Mentha canadensis is common throughout its native range in North America and northeastern Asia. It is extensively cultivated for menthol production. No conservation concerns.
Active Constituents
(-)-Menthol
Monoterpene alcoholConcentration: the Chinese Pharmacopoeia requires not less than 0.13% menthol in the dried herb, calculated on the dried basis, and not less than 0.80% (mL/g) volatile oil; menthol is reported at 41-85% of the essential oil depending on origin and distillation
The defining constituent of the drug and the reason Mentha canadensis is the world's main commercial source of natural menthol. It is a TRPM8 agonist, producing the cooling sensation, and is spasmolytic on smooth muscle. Note that the pharmacology usually quoted for menthol comes from studies on peppermint oil (Mentha x piperita), not on this species.
Menthone
Monoterpene ketoneConcentration: about 20% of the essential oil in a characterised Mentha canadensis oil, with menthol at about 41% in the same sample
The biosynthetic precursor of menthol and the second major ketone of the oil. Its proportion falls and menthol rises as the crop matures, so harvest timing changes the oil profile.
Menthyl acetate
Monoterpene esterConcentration: a minor ester of mint oils; not a pharmacopoeial marker for this drug
Contributes to the sweet, fruity element of mint aroma. It is a reversible inhibitor of CYP3A4 in vitro with a Ki of 124 micromol/L, measured in a study of peppermint oil rather than of Mentha canadensis oil.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Topical menthol or peppermint preparations applied near the nose or face of infants and children under 2 years
The nasal mucosa acts as a reflexogenic organ with distant effects on the airway and circulation, and menthol applied to it in a small child can trigger sudden apnoea and glottic constriction. This is the basis of the standing contraindication on peppermint oil in children under two years, and on direct application of menthol preparations to the nose or chest of infants. The published cases involve peppermint and eucalyptus oil preparations rather than Bo He decoction, but the responsible molecule, menthol, is the same one this drug is standardised on and is the one Mentha canadensis is grown to produce.
Clinical note: Never apply mint oil, menthol crystals (Bo He Nao) or any menthol-containing rub to the face, nose or chest of an infant or toddler. This is a contraindication, not a caution. Oral Bo He in a decoction at paediatric dose is a different exposure and is not what the reports describe.
Menthol exposure in neonates with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency
In a controlled study of 60 G6PD-deficient babies, 30 whose umbilical cords were dressed daily with mentholated powder developed significantly more jaundice than 30 untreated controls, attributed to the neonate's inability to conjugate menthol. Haemolysis with menthol-rich herbal preparations has been reported more generally in G6PD deficiency.
Clinical note: Avoid menthol-containing preparations, topical or oral, in neonates from populations with a high prevalence of G6PD deficiency, and in any infant known to be deficient.
CYP3A4 substrates with narrow margins (felodipine, ciclosporin, simvastatin)
In a randomised four-way crossover in 12 healthy volunteers, 600 mg of peppermint oil raised the AUC of extended-release felodipine to 140% of the water control (range 77-262%) without changing its half-life, indicating inhibition of first-pass CYP3A4 rather than altered clearance. Peppermint oil inhibited nifedipine oxidation in vitro with Ki 35.9 micrograms/mL, menthol with Ki 87 micromol/L and menthyl acetate with Ki 124 micromol/L. The trial used Mentha x piperita oil. No equivalent study has been done with Mentha canadensis oil or with Bo He decoction, but the inhibitory constituents are shared and this species is the more menthol-rich of the two, so the effect should not be assumed to be absent.
Clinical note: The risk sits with concentrated mint oil capsules, not with the small amount of volatile oil surviving a late-added decoction. Ask about peppermint oil supplements separately from the prescribed herbs in patients on ciclosporin or a narrow-margin CYP3A4 substrate.
Mentha x piperita (peppermint) supplied or dispensed as Bo He
Menthae Herba is written with the same characters in China and Japan but the two pharmacopoeias do not define it identically, and the commercial mint trade moves cornmint (Mentha canadensis), peppermint (Mentha x piperita) and dementholised cornmint oil through the same channels. Peppermint is a sterile hybrid with a different oil profile, and essentially all the human pharmacology and the infant apnoea case literature attributes to peppermint rather than to Mentha canadensis. A dispensary that treats them as one herb is quietly substituting a differently characterised drug.
Clinical note: Specify Menthae Haplocalycis Herba when Bo He is intended, and treat any product simply labelled peppermint as a different article. Note also that Mentha haplocalyx Briq. is a synonym of Mentha canadensis L., not a separate species, so material under either name is the same drug.
Breastfeeding and lactation
Bo He is used in Chinese practice at higher dose to reduce milk supply during weaning, and the same caution appears in Western mint monographs. There is no controlled human data establishing an effect on established lactation, so this rests on consistent traditional use rather than on trial evidence.
Clinical note: Keep to small doses in a breastfeeding woman who wants to maintain supply, and warn her to watch supply if she is taking a mint-heavy formula.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 3–6 g | daily | — | adult | 中国药典 2020年版 一部 【薄荷】【用法与用量】3～6g，后下。 — Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020, Vol. I. Add near the end of decoction (hou xia); contains volatile oils |
Dui Yao — Herb Pairs
The classical two-herb combinations this herb appears in, each with an action neither herb has alone.
Together they disperse wind-heat and benefit the throat, relieving sore swollen throat at the onset of a wind-heat invasion.
Core pair of a classical formula — Yin Qiao San, Wen Bing Tiao Bian (Wu Jutong)
Evidence Tier
Moderate evidence · 5 studiesRecorded studies by study design, strongest design at the top. This is a study-design tier only, not a GRADE rating: it does not weigh risk of bias, consistency or precision.
Systematic review / meta-analysis
0
Randomized controlled trial
1
1 verified · 0 unverified
Other clinical trial
0
Observational / case report
1
0 verified · 1 unverified
In vitro / animal
3
0 verified · 3 unverified
Show 3 studies
- Chemical Composition, Olfactory Evaluation and Antioxidant Effects of Essential Oil from Mentha Canadensis
- Chemical Constituents from Mentha haplocalyx Briq. (Mentha canadensis L.) and Their α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activities
- Exploring anti-inflammatory non-essential oil metabolites in Mentha canadensis: Insights into neutrophil extracellular trap inhibition for functional health promotion
Other / unclassified
0
Verified: design read from PubMed for a DOI that resolves to the cited paper Unverified: taken from the study's recorded description
Clinical Studies
Evaluation of peppermint oil and ascorbyl palmitate as inhibitors of cytochrome P4503A4 activity in vitro and in vivo
A randomised four-way crossover in 12 healthy volunteers giving 10 mg extended-release felodipine with water, grapefruit juice, 600 mg peppermint oil or ascorbyl palmitate. Peppermint oil raised felodipine AUC to 140% of control and grapefruit juice to 173%, with increased Cmax and unchanged half-life for both. The oil tested was Mentha x piperita, not Mentha canadensis; it is included here because menthol and menthyl acetate, the constituents shown to inhibit CYP3A4, are the same ones this drug is standardised on.
THE RISK OF JAUNDICE IN GLUCOSE-6-PHOSPHATE DEHYDROGENASE DEFICIENT BABIES EXPOSED TO MENTHOL
Sixty G6PD-deficient babies were compared, 30 with umbilical cords dressed daily with mentholated powder and 30 untreated. The treated babies developed significantly more jaundice, attributed to the neonate's inability to conjugate menthol, and the authors recommended discontinuing menthol and camphor products on neonates in communities where G6PD deficiency is common.
Chemical Composition, Olfactory Evaluation and Antioxidant Effects of Essential Oil from Mentha Canadensis
Characterisation of a Mentha canadensis (cornmint) essential oil, with menthol at 41.2% and menthone at 20.4% as main constituents, olfactory evaluation, and antiradical activity against DPPH (IC50 365.0 micrograms/mL) and hydroxyl radicals (IC50 0.3 micrograms/mL). This is one of the few analyses published under the correct binomial rather than under peppermint.
Chemical Constituents from Mentha haplocalyx Briq. (Mentha canadensis L.) and Their α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activities
Extracts of the herb inhibited alpha-glucosidase with an IC50 of 21.0 micrograms/mL, and bioactivity-guided isolation gave two new compounds with 23 known ones, the most active at IC50 83.4 micromol/L. The title itself records that Mentha haplocalyx Briq. and Mentha canadensis L. are one species.
Exploring anti-inflammatory non-essential oil metabolites in Mentha canadensis: Insights into neutrophil extracellular trap inhibition for functional health promotion
Work on the non-volatile fraction of Mentha canadensis, identifying cinnamic acid derivatives as anti-inflammatory constituents acting through inhibition of neutrophil extracellular trap formation. It is useful because it addresses the part of the herb that actually survives decoction, rather than the volatile oil that mostly does not.
⚠ Rule-Based Cautions
These entries come from the deterministic rule tables that gate Verscienta's formula tools — classical pair prohibitions, pregnancy and lactation contraindications, and dose ceilings.
Breastfeeding
Caution large amounts may reduce milk supply
Historical Texts
Qian Jin Fang (Sun Simiao)
Tang dynasty (7th century)Xin Xiu Ben Cao
Tang dynasty (659 CE)References
- Negishi H, Ito M. Comparison of Menthae Herba written with the same kanji characters (薄荷) in Japan and China . Journal of Natural Medicines (2024) [DOI]
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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