Spearmint
What the research shows
No concerns
none of the findings here link it to harm
A mint plant also known as garden mint.
It is used as a flavouring in food and herbal teas.1
What research says
Studies in people
-
No harm found
Heartburn and reflux2
High doses of spearmint gave some people symptoms, but flavouring amounts did not, and reflux stayed the same.
The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.
Products
The 6 most-scanned of 331 products on Open Food Facts that list spearmint.
- Green tea Lipton · 32 g 0 additives
- Wellbeing Collection Twinings · 20 = 4 x Sleep, Glow, Digest, Detox, Defence each 0 additives
- Pukka three mint tea Pukka · 32 g, 20 tea sachets 0 additives
- Twinings Detox Tea Twinings 0 additives
- Sainsbury's Sausage Casserole Sainsbury's 1 additive
- Moroccan medley cous cous Bramwells · 100 g 3 additives
References
- 1Spearmint. Wikipedia. Accessed September 30, 2026. CC BY-SA 4.0.
- 2Bulat R, Fachnie E, Chauhan U, Chen Y, Tougas G. Lack of effect of spearmint on lower oesophageal sphincter function and acid reflux in healthy volunteers. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 1999;13(6):805-12. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2036.1999.00528.x