Peppermint is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the Labiate family and is cultivated almost all over the world thanks to its beneficial properties. Its highly aromatic power is much used by the pharmaceutical and food industry for the preparation of herbal teas, mouthwashes and candies. In addition, thanks to its active ingredients, peppermint is widely used in the formulation of food and nutraceutical supplements.

Thanks to the presence of major components such as menthol and menthol ketone, peppermint essential oil is considered as an excellent antineuralgic and decongestant of the respiratory tract. In addition, it has important carminative and cholagogue properties, with a high efficacy in the treatment of digestive disorders as well as in providing spasmolytic and calcium channel blocking action.

However, peppermint essential oil is known to cause irritation if in direct contact with the gastric mucosa. For this reason, IPS has decided to use the technique of microencapsulation by coacervation to encapsulate peppermint essential oil and transport it to the intestines, increasing its therapeutic efficacy. Peppermint gastro-resistant microcapsules are specially designed to protect the active ingredient from acidic environments where, without said protection, it could cause gastric irritation and lose its beneficial properties.

Peppermint gastro-resistant microcapsules can be added to solid oral formulations while maintaining the therapeutic characteristics of the oil. In addition, they can be used in combination with other active ingredients within hard capsules and single-dose oral sachets.

In addition to the protection offered by the gastro-resistant gelatine membrane, peppermint microcapsules have another important advantage over classic supplements. They actually increase the concentration of the active ingredient up to 80% and allow its controlled release at predetermined conditions, maximising its absorption and therapeutic efficacy.