INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

Submitted by: Gambito, Terrence Bernice B.

Grade & Section: 2-CRT

Subject: Microbiology
 “AIRMBER ESSENTIALS”
PEPPERMINT ESSENTIAL OIL REMEDY FOR
RESPIRATORY DISCOMFORT THROUGH
AROMATHERAPY AND TOPICAL APPLICATION IN A
TWO-WAY SPRAYER AND ROLL-ON BOTTLE
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

General Objective . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Specific Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Materials / Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Treatment / General Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Results and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Analysis of Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Visual Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
 
Abstract

This product experiment aims to provide treatment for dyspnoea or shortness of breath, as
well as some variety of conditions including nausea, common cold and headaches by way
of botanical aromatherapy and topical application having peppermint as the main element
of this essential oil product.

Pure quality peppermint oil are to be extracted and mixed with organic ingredients to
make this product free from harmful synthetics and safe to inhale as well as to apply as
topical treatment. This product will also undergo quality testing and retesting to ensure
that the person enjoys the purest and safest essential oil therapy.

In several respiratory disorders, menthol has been demonstrated to alleviate dyspnea. It's
a naturally occurring cold receptor agonist that activates the skin's and mucous
membranes' transient receptor potential melastatin 8 (TRPM8) channel. This feature
causes a cooling feeling in the skin and mucous membranes, which appears to lower the
perception of breathing effort without actually changing the skin or mucous membrane
temperature.

The cooling sensation effect of the menthol essential oil will give an instant relief and the
pleasing scent that it secretes which will radiate around the user will provide a more
relaxing feeling, minimizing any discomfort right away.

With the current condition that whole world is facing right now wherein shortness of
breath is considered one of the possible symptoms of COVID-19, it would be best to have
an early treatment for such condition before it gets worse and this essential oil product
will be one of the best remedies due to its natural components, free from harmful
chemicals. The product can be used in two ways: aromatherapy by direct inhalation or air
spray on one end of the bottle and can also be applied to the skin using the roll-on end of
the bottle which goes in a handy, easy-to-carry and fashionable packaging that anyone
can have.
 
 1

Statement of Problem

One of the disturbing condition that people of all ages experience when feeling
discomfort is shortness of breath and is sometimes associated with other distressing
conditions such as nausea, headache or colds. This aims to provide a remedy for these
ailments with the help of menthol extracted from pure peppermint leaves as the main
ingredient to make an essential oil which will give instant relief for the said respiratory
discomfort and related conditions.The effectiveness of airmber basics and other goods
will be discussed in this study.

This study was designed to answer the following questions in particular:

● Airmber essentials has what quality elements that make it stand out from other
common essentials brands?
● As far as persons with respiratory problems are concerned, how does airmber
essentials help?

Objectives

General Objective

To make a handy essential oil using menthol from peppermint as main ingredient to
aid respiratory discomfort by way of topical application and/or aromatherapy all in one
product. Basics by airmber will offer a range of products that may be used on the face or
body, regardless of age or skin type.

Specific Objective
• To provide instant relief for dyspnoea or shortness of breath with the help of
menthol.

• To offer an alternative remedy for other related conditions such as nausea,

headache and common colds.

• To make an essential oil product available in the market for people of all ages at an
affordable price.

• To design a two-way essential oil container for the product user to have options on
how they want to treat their respiratory ailment and other related conditions.

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Methodology

In this research, it is important to identify the scale of breathlessness of the subject into
specific degrees as follows:

MRC breathlessness scale

Grade Degree of dyspnea

1 no dyspnea except with strenuous exercise

2 dyspnea when walking up an incline or hurrying on the level

3 walks slower than most on the level, or stops after 15 minutes of walking
on the level

4 stops after a few minutes of walking on the level

 5 with minimal activity such as getting dressed, too dyspneic to leave the
house

Once scaled, Airmber Lavender Herbal Essential Oil will be applied based on the
preference of the subject whether it be by aromatherapy by direct inhalation or by topical
application on the chest or neck, all within five (5) minutes. After which, the subject is to
be re-evaluated based on the scale shown above to determine the effectiveness of the
product.

The subject will also be asked on how handy is the product to conclude if the packaging
and design of the container meets the proposed objectives.
 
3

Materials / Equipment

The following ingredients and supplies are needed in making the peppermint essential oil
product:

o Fresh peppermint plant leaves

o Carrier oil of your choice. Options are:

 Olive Oil Grapeseed Oil Coconut Oil Jojoba Oil

o Small glass jar or container with a lid

o Spoon, knife, or mortar and pestle

o Small Bowl

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o Cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer

o Regular sized strainer or colander

o Paper Towels

 
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Treatment / General Procedure

To achieve a more effective extracting peppermint oil, these steps should be followed and
observed carefully:

Step 1: Obtaining the Peppermint Leaves

Mint leaves need to be gathered from the plant before they can be used. Plant peppermint
in your garden and get it picked off with a good amount of leaves. Alternatively, fresh
mint can be purchased at the grocery store's herb area. Although both peppermint and
spearmint are members of the mentha family, peppermint has a significantly stronger
flavor because it contains menthol.

Step 2: Washing the Peppermint Leaves

Have the peppermint washed properly, regardless of whether it was home-grown or
purchased. Make sure the mint leaves are placed in a sieve or colander, and that they are
rinsing with water thoroughly. The herbs must be completely dried. The mint leaves
should then be set out on paper towels and spread out.

Step 3: Preparing the Peppermint Leaves

The leaves should be crushed with a spoon, a knife, or a mortar and pestle, depending on
what you have on hand. Not every part must be shredded into little bits. The goal is to
obtain the peppermint oil out of the herbs.

Step 4: Making the Oil

The peppermint oil recipe simply consists of the peppermint leaves and the carrier oil you
chose. The crushed mint leaves will be put into the jar. Then, the carrier oil of choice (see
choices in the Materials/Equipment) will be used to completely cover all the leaves. The
whole jar needs not to be fully filled up, otherwise the extract will be too diluted. Have
the jar tightly sealed.
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Step 5: Wait

The concoction should sit for at least 24 hours. For extra potency, you can wait three
days, if you wish.

Step 6: Straining

Cheesecloth or a strainer should be used to remove the mint leaves after the waiting
period. Have it filtered into a cup or dish of its own. After the leaves have been squeezed
out, it will be added back into the jar.

Step 7: Repeat
The first set of steps should be repeated to prepare more leaves to be added into the jar.
Mint leaves can be added and a little bit more carrier oil, and then have the jar sealed.
The oil should sit with the newly added leaves for another 24 hours, and then the process
should be repeated again, for at least two more days. Three days is usually the magic
number, but it can certainly be done once more if you want the oil to be more
concentrated.

Step 8: Transfer to the Two-Way Sprayer and Roll-On Bottle

Using a dropper or a funnel, whichever is available, have the peppermint oil transferred
into the two-way container through the sprayer end of the bottle. After putting 10 ml of
the essential oil, properly closed the bottle and the product is ready for use.

To treat respiratory pain and related disorders, peppermint oil is now ready to be used.
Extra oil can be stored in a tightly sealed bottle and kept somewhere cool and dark.

Important disclaimer: Even though you made your essential oil with a carrier oil, you will
still need to dilute it with more carrier oil if you want to use it topically. You should never

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put an essential oil — homemade or not — undiluted on your skin, as it can be irritating
and harmful to the skin.

It is highly recommended to observe a high carrier oil-to-essential oil ratio. Dilute it

down to maybe 2%, which means that you’re going to put about 15 drops in a one-ounce
bottle.

Step 9: Treating subjects with dyspnoea and other related conditions

Evaluate the subject's level of dyspnea using the MRC breathlessness scale. Identify
whether or if the subject is suffering from associated ailments such as nausea, common
colds, or headaches. If the patient prefers to inhale the essential oil directly through the
sprayer or to apply it topically to the chest or neck, the oil will be utilized for five (5)
minutes.

Step 10: Re-evaluation of the subject

After using the peppermint essential oil for five (5) minutes, have the subject re-evaluated
using the MRC breathlessness scale again and it should be determined it the subject had
an improvement. The convenience in carrying the product will then be inquired with the
subject to know if it have a handy and comfortable design on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the
highest.

Results and Discussion

To better identify the result of the experiment, the following criteria will be the basis:

Based on the MRC breathlessness scale,

One (1) Degree Lower* Effective
Two (2) Degrees Lower* Effective
Three (3) Degrees Lower* Effective
Four (4) Degrees Lower* Effective
No change in degree* Not yet effective; may continue use to acquire result
Any no. of Degree Higher* Not Effective

*within five (5) minutes of use of the peppermint essential oil product
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Findings

Once all experiment had been conducted, the total number respondents / subjects, the
total number of “Not Effective” results and the total number of “Effective” results should
be acquired, respectively.

A pie chart will then be shown to visually represent the percentages and efficacy rate of
the peppermint essential oil product as shown below:
Analysis of Data

After getting all the results, have the total number of “Effective” results be divided by the
total number of respondents / subjects to acquire the percentage of the efficacy of the
peppermint essential oil product.

If the “effective” percentage result shows above 60% of the total number of respondents /
subject, then we can conclude that the peppermint essential oil is generally efficient for
dyspnoea and/or the other tested conditions, nausea, common colds and headache.

 
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Conclusions

Oil of peppermint is usually considered to be harmless. There are a lot of claims across
the world about the effectiveness of peppermint oil on dyspnoea, nausea, common colds,
and headaches.

You should also keep in mind that peppermint essential oil is highly potent and should
always be diluted appropriately before topical application. In order to dilute an ounce of
carrier oil, only a few drops are required.
The convenience of carrying this kind of product would help a lot of people who have
been experiencing these ailments and make them live their life better.

With additional participants and a variety of aromatherapies to alleviate respiratory

discomforts, this study should be repeated with more people.

Recommendations

Applied to the skin, peppermint oil might irritate the skin or induce an allergic reaction.
Test a small area of skin first if you're worried about peppermint oil causing a skin
reaction.

Before using peppermint oil, talk to your doctor if you have any concerns or queries.

Still, it is highly recommended to use peppermint in these kinds of ailments.

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Bibliography

1. Eccles R. Menthol: Effects on nasal sensation of airflow and the drive to breathe. Curr
Allergy Asthma Rep. 2003;3:210–4

2. Fisher JT. TRPM8 and dyspnea: From the frigid and fascinating past to the cool future?
Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2011;11:218–23.
3. Nishino T, Tagaito Y, Sakurai Y. Nasal inhalation of l-menthol reduces respiratory
discomfort associated with loaded breathing. Am J Respir Crit Care Med.
1997;156:309–13.

4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3628651/

5. https://www.latimes.com/home/la-he-healing-garden-recipes-20150627-story.html

6. https://blog.publicgoods.com/how-to-make-peppermint-oil/

7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortness_of_breath

8. https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-peppermint-oil#uses

9. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19768994

10. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22034523

11. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24100754

12. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23092689

13. http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/peppermint

 
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Visual Display

The Airmber Lavender Herbal Essential Oil goes in a handy, easy-to-carry and
fashionable packaging that anyone can have.

It can be used in two ways: aromatherapy by direct inhalation or by using the sprayer on
one end of the bottle and it can also be applied evenly onto the skin by using the roll-on
end of the bottle which gives the people more convenient options to ease their respiratory
discomfort, nausea, common colds and headache.
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