Wild mint essential oil, also called cornmint oil, has a variety of beneficial uses including pain relief, digestion support, and more. 

It works especially well when combined with CBD (cannabidiol) oil, such as in products like our Muscle and Joint Relief Salve. This is because both CBD and wild mint both have various properties that may work to reduce inflammation and minimize pain.

Like CBD, wild mint is also known to have a positive effect on your mood, and its minty aroma may help you to feel energized and uplifted as well. 

Because it works well with CBD, and it is featured in our pain relief salve, we’ve compiled some great information about wild mint oil and all of its great properties. To learn more, keep reading!

What is wild mint essential oil? 

Wild mint essential oil is often called cornmint oil, although the mint name is perhaps more fitting thanks to the minty aroma the oil has. 

It is sometimes mistaken for peppermint oil because it has a similar menthol scent and similar properties as well. It is traditionally used in many of the same ways as peppermint oil. 

Wild mint oil is extracted from the mentha arvensis plant, which is commonly found in places such as Brazil, China, Vietnam, and India. The plant has colorful bell-shaped flowers, and it has glands that contain essential oils. The mentha genus of plants also includes menthol. 

Fun fact: The name ‘mentha’ has roots in Greek mythology! Mentha comes from Minthe, the name of a nymph who was a mistress of Hades. When Persephone, Hades’ queen, found out about the relationship, she grew jealous and transformed Minthe into a plant destined to be walked upon forever. Hades tried to make this fate more tolerable by making it so that the more the plant was walked on, the sweeter the aroma it would produce. Hence, we have the mint plants in the mentha genus. 

Benefits of Wild Mint Essential Oil

Wild mint has a variety of different benefits, with the most notable being pain relief, digestive help, and alertness improvement. Learn more about these benefits below:

Pain Relief

One of the most notable benefits of wild mint essential oil is the pain relief it provides. If you’ve ever used a cream with menthol in it, you’ve felt the cooling sensation on your skin that probably eased your pain very quickly. Wild mint oil has the menthol compounds that create that very sensation. In fact, menthol can make up to 80 percent of the oil. 

When the menthol is applied to your skin, it actually sends a signal to your brain that changes the way your brain interprets temperature. This leads to a perception of coolness, which then helps to reduce the feeling of pain in that area. Studies have shown that menthol can be very effective in decreasing pain intensity. 

Mint oil also holds some anti-inflammatory effects as well. This is thanks to its concentration of menthol and the terpene limonene. The anti-inflammatory benefits that it holds may ultimately help to reduce pain when applied topically to an injured muscle or joint. 

Improved Alertness 

The menthol found in wild mint oil may also improve your alertness and overall mood as well. Research has found that peppermint essential oil (which also has a high concentration of menthol) has an impact on wakefulness. You’ve probably noticed that when you smell something with a strong minty aroma that your mind clears and you become more alert. 

Improved Digestion

The menthol also helps the body by allowing blood vessels to dilate, causing an increase in blood flow to inflamed or irritated areas. This may help soothe an upset stomach.

Studies have also shown that wild mint essential oil may aid in digestion by producing a relaxing effect on the gastrointestinal system. 

How CBD Manages Pain

Before we talk about how CBD and wild mint work together, let’s briefly chat about how CBD can help manage pain, making it a popular ingredient in many pain relief salves. 

CBD (cannabidiol) has been known to help reduce pain, inflammation, and discomfort in many people. One of the biggest reasons why CBD is able to relieve pain is because it has anti-inflammatory effects. CBD acts as a powerful anti-inflammatory agent thanks to the way that it interacts with the human body.

Studies have shown that cannabidiol doesn’t reduce inflammatory pain through linking with your body’s cannabinoid receptors, but instead by interacting with an entirely different receptor. 

The receptors that CBD links up with in order to block inflammatory pain are called glycine receptors. These receptors transmit pain signals throughout your body and up your spinal cord into your brain. CBD interacts with those receptors to limit the pain signals that are sent. This ultimately reduces your overall experience of pain. 

CBD also works to manage pain acting as an antioxidant as well. It does this by reducing the oxidative stress that your body experiences. This stress is caused by an increase in free radicals, which cause damage to the cells in your body, leading to inflammation and tissue damage. Because of its antioxidant properties, CBD is able to fight the free radicals and reduce the inflammation, and ultimately the pain, experienced in the body.

Long story short, CBD holds both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that combat some of the most common sources of pain in the body. Research has shown that if it is taken consistently, CBD may be able to provide pain relief. 

How Wild Mint Essential Oil Works with CBD 

CBD and wild mint essential oil are a great pair. 

Both have anti-inflammatory properties. CBD helps to block inflammatory pain and acts as an antioxidant to reduce tissue damage. Wild mint also has anti-inflammatory effects thanks to the antioxidant terpene called limonene that it contains. 

Additionally, wild mint provides a soothing cooling effect from the menthol as well. This cooling effect can help provide instant pain relief while the CBD sinks into the skin and begins to work shortly thereafter.

When paired with CBD, wild mint is an ideal essential oil to add to salves and creams. If you want to experience the pain-relieving benefits from both CBD and wild mint, along with a variety of other great essential oils, give our Muscle and Joint Relief Salve a try.