Menthol

Menthol is an <a href="/facts/Organic_compound/gqCNaN45">organic compound</a>, specifically a <a href="/facts/Monoterpene/6kFBtsXM">monoterpenoid</a>, that occurs naturally in the oils of several plants in the <a href="/facts/Mentha/rLFxkqXI">mint</a> family, such as <a href="/facts/Mentha_arvensis/LWjD5QX5">corn mint</a> and <a href="/facts/Peppermint/A0xDeVe0">peppermint</a>. It is a white or clear waxy <a href="/facts/Crystal/e2R2mk3E">crystalline</a> substance that is solid at <a href="/facts/Room_temperature/YHwUIUTE">room temperature</a> and melts slightly above. The main form of menthol occurring in nature is (−)-menthol, which is assigned the (1R,2S,5R) <a href="/facts/Cahn%25E2%2580%2593Ingold%25E2%2580%2593Prelog_priority_rules/nkVS9xAq">configuration</a>. 
For many people, menthol produces a cooling sensation when inhaled, eaten, or applied to the skin, and mint plants have been used for centuries for topical pain relief and as a food flavoring. Menthol has <a href="/facts/Local_anesthetic/5aA2qews">local anesthetic</a> and <a href="/facts/Counterirritant/VTeSnP6V">counterirritant</a> qualities, and it is widely used to relieve minor <a href="/facts/Throat_irritation/TJRzmeW7">throat irritation</a>.
Menthol has been demonstrated to cause a subjective nasal decongestant effect without any objective decongestant action, and administration of menthol via a nasal inhaler in humans has also been shown to cause nasal congestion.
Menthol also acts as a weak <a href="/facts/%25CE%259A-opioid_receptor/zJRo3NoF">κ-opioid receptor</a> <a href="/facts/Agonist/nz8U5NNp">agonist</a>.

Menthol open-in-new

Menthol