Medicinal Herb InfoA reference archive of plants and their traditions
Not medical advice. This site documents how plants have been described and used historically. It is a botanical and folklore reference, not guidance for treating illness, and it carries no dosing instructions. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before using any plant medicinally — herbs interact with medication and some are toxic.

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Peppermint Extract May Help Fight Drug-resistant Bacteria

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Peppermint (Mentha piperita) has been investigated for potential antibacterial properties against multidrug-resistant human pathogens. In a 2018 study titled "Anti-bacterial activity of peppermint (Mentha piperita) extracts against some emerging multi-drug resistant human bacterial pathogens," researchers evaluated various extracts of the plant against a panel of drug-resistant bacteria.

The organisms tested included Enterococcus faecalis, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE), penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pyogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia marcescens, Acinetobacter baumannii, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The study reported that peppermint extracts exhibited growth-inhibiting and antibacterial actions in vitro against these pathogens.