Peppermint Oil and IBS
What 5 graded rows on peppermint oil agree on for IBS, and where they differ. Counted side by side, never averaged.
Consensus finder Rows from the Peppermint Oil page, reviewed Oct 21, 2026 How it decides
What the rows agree on
Each block and row is one graded row from the Peppermint Oil page, with its PubMed record.
Your question
Peppermint Oil and IBS
5 rows · 2,412 peopleSplit. 3 rows found an improvement and 2 found no difference.
- BGrade B× 4
- CGrade C× 1
- Rows
- 5
- Trials
- 23
- People
- 2,412
- Pooled reviews may count some twice
Where they differ
From the rowsThe best-graded row, grade B, is a meta-analysis of 1,030 people (2022) and found an improvement.
The 3 rows that found an improvement were larger: a median of 668 people, against a median of 161 people for the 2 rows that found no difference.
The 3 rows that found an improvement are pooled reviews of several trials; the 2 rows that found no difference are single studies.
The rows
3 improved · 2 no difference- BGrade BGlobal IBS symptoms and abdominal pain · Improved
Meta-analysis, 10 studies · n 1,030 · 2022 · Adults with IBS in 10 randomized trials
Varied across trials · Varied
Fewer patients failed to improve on peppermint oil than placebo for global symptoms (RR 0.65, NNT 4) and abdominal pain (RR 0.76, NNT 7). Adverse events were more frequent (RR 1.57). Evidence quality was very low.
Row on the Peppermint Oil page · PubMed 35942669 (opens PubMed)
- BGrade BGlobal IBS symptom improvement · Improved
Meta-analysis, 7 studies · n 668 · 2026 · Adults with IBS in 7 randomized trials
Varied across trials · Varied
More patients improved on peppermint oil than placebo (144 of 311 vs 97 of 357; RR 1.63, 95% CI 1.33–2.00; NNT about 6), with no heterogeneity. The authors noted that the quality of many studies was limited and that the high-quality PERSUADE trial was negative.
Row on the Peppermint Oil page · PubMed 42572206 (opens PubMed)
- BGrade BPersistent IBS symptoms · Improved
Meta-analysis, 4 studies · n 392 · 2008 · Adults with IBS in 4 placebo-controlled trials
Varied across trials · At least 1 week
Persistent symptoms were less likely with peppermint oil than placebo (RR 0.43, 95% CI 0.32–0.59).
Row on the Peppermint Oil page · PubMed 19008265 (opens PubMed)
- BGrade BAbdominal pain response and overall relief (primary endpoints) · No difference
RCT · n 189 · 2020 · Adults with IBS (Rome IV) in the Netherlands
182 mg (dosing frequency not stated in the abstract) · 8 weeks
Neither formulation beat placebo on the FDA pain-response endpoint (46.8% and 41.3% vs 34.4%) or the EMA overall-relief endpoint. Small-intestinal release improved only secondary measures (pain, discomfort, IBS severity). Mild adverse events were more common.
Row on the Peppermint Oil page · PubMed 31470006 (opens PubMed)
- CGrade CIBS severity score (IBS-SSS) · No difference
RCT · n 133 · 2021 · US adults with moderate to severe IBS (Rome IV)
180 mg three times daily · 6 weeks
Both groups improved substantially (90.8 vs 100.3 points); no significant difference on the primary or any secondary outcome (P = 0.97).
Row on the Peppermint Oil page · PubMed 34319275 (opens PubMed)