What is the deal with Corn Mint Essential Oil?
Corn Mint; (Mentha arvensis), is a type of mint plant that grows on every continent of the world. In some places, it is known as Field Mint or Wild Mint. In some botany circles another closely related plant, almost the same by some accounts is one called by a number of names but one that is related to the country they are growing in, such as Canadian Mint, or Mexican Mint, and so on. The Latin name for that is Mentha canadensis. But one should not get confused as the main overall mint of the Corn Mint is just that. However, another name for it is the Japanese Mint. Corn Mint as sold under the name of Japanese Mint is one of the most important mint crops sold worldwide. Also, one must not get Corn Mint confused with Peppermint. Peppermint is a crossbred, hybrid of the crossing of Corn Mint and Spearmint. Perhaps a simple way to look at this Corn Mint oil and along with the family relationship with Peppermint and Spearmint is to think of and picture Corn Mint as the old man of the three, ie; the father. Then think of Spearmint as the Mother of the relationship. Then think of the Peppermint offspring of the two as the child. The father of the family reminds a person of just that, as the Corn Mint plant has a more coarse stem, the leaves are further apart and the color of the blossom is a slightly darker shade of purple than the other two. Spearmint as the female/mother contributor of the pair is a slightly more traditional female, slightly delicate as compared to the Corn Mint.
There are noticeably more leaves than found on Corn Mint. and the leaves are closer together. The flowers are a little bit whiter or even white in some cases and/or a lighter shade of purple. Then when we come to Peppermint, we see a more youthful-looking plant, usually smaller in nature and closer to the ground in its growth patterns. n the vast majority of cases the Peppermint plant has white flowers, although other shades are not uncommon. All of these mint plants require a more wet environment to grow properly. Although the Corn Mint plant can tolerate more slightly dry growing conditions. One must keep in mind and not get confused as the Peppermint plant is not a GMO developed plant. Corn Mint and Spearmint produced an offspring by natural pollination methods. A GMO plant is a crossbred of sorts that is not produced or cannot be produced through natural means, as GMO has to have its origination done by man, usually in a laboratory. You would be surprised as to how many people don't understand the difference.
Corn Mint is a very strong plant when it comes to properties. Corn Mint consists of about 50% to 75% Alcohols, about 15 to 30% Ketones with Esters from a trace amount to 4% in some cases with Hydrocarbons at the trace amount to maybe 10% and then Oxides finishing up the content with trace amounts to 3% of the total volume. Whereas Spearmint tends to a little higher in Ketones and less in most categories of the other parts. Then with Peppermint, you tend to see higher levels of Alcohol than either the Corn or Spearmint. But the other components tend to be more evenly distributed with each other in most Peppermints. Overall there are many types of Peppermint oils as well as Corn Mints and Spearmint tends to not have as many varieties.
Corn Mint has a wide variety of uses. As with any mint oil, especially these 3 mentioned oils one must be careful in the use of them. The Corn Mint and Peppermint have widespread cautions against the use of them with children and pregnant women. Whereas Spearmint has mild precautions against using it with children and pregnant women. There are a number of precautions against using Corn Mind when a person is using a wide range of drugs and certain issues related to the heart. If a person is of somewhat decent health, then Corn Mint is safe to use. f a concern is present, it would be good to consider consulting the Peppermint oil precautions and concerns as they would be the same or would affect the user more acutely than Peppermint would. The list is really quite long, too long to list here as to the concerns.
Corn Mint really should be used in blends for the best effect. We have used several blends with remarkable results. Corn Mint can be used topically with little concern, especially when used in a diluted solution. However, one should not really use this oil internally. So if one needs to use it for internal purposes, then maybe consider using a diffused application for remarkable results. For the most part, the price of Corn Mint is comparable or at times maybe a touch pricier than Peppermint EO. So if the cost is a concern, there isn't much of an advantage of using Corn Mint, but if you are looking for some powerful aspects to your blending purposes and for seriously clinical level needs, then Corn Mint is the "man" so to speak. Otherwise, Peppermint or Spearmint might serve the layperson better.
End of Info Sheet. KK.
