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Pj1.0

Pennyroyal Research

Too few graded studies

6 peer-reviewed studies

What the evidence says

Mostly mechanism / observational

Most Pennyroyal studies are mechanism or observational rather than RCTs that measure a clinical effect — keep findings provisional.

Most evidence is from high-quality studies published 1996–2025 with a typical study size of 142 participants.

Based on 6 studies · 142 total participants

Confidence

Low confidence

By outcome

Safety profile
Too few graded studies1 study

Active research area

4 studies in the last 5 years

199620102025

1Case Study1996

In plain English: Pennyroyal is a widely available herb that has long been used as an abortifacient despite its potentially lethal hepatotoxic effects.

Anderson IB et al. · Ann Intern Med (1996)

First quantification of pennyroyal metabolites in human overdose
Protein-bound adducts of the metabolites detected in human liver
Places the two cases in the context of previously reported pennyroyal poisoning

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2Review2025

In plain English: This study aimed to provide an overview on the two species' composition and biological activities to review the applications of their crude extracts and EOs in agriculture as natural pesticides to protect different cultures and in food industry to produce biobased food packaging.

Khodja NK, Brahmi F, Zebiri F, Ouchene A, Bradai YD, Madani K. · Chemistry & biodiversity (2025)

Considering plant extracts and phytochemicals have biological action both in vitro and in vivo, plants are being used as alternative sources in agriculture and food industry.
Mentha pulegium L. and Salvia officinalis L. from the Lamiaceae family are some of the most popular and widely utilized medicinal plants due to their bioactive compounds such as essential oils (EOs) and phenolics, which have powerful antioxidant and antimicrobial characteristics.
It is evident that these plants have also a variety of applications due to their various components and concentrations.

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3Review2025

In plain English: Additionally, recent advances in producing herbal medicine formulations based on nanoparticle technologies are also summarised in this review article.

Rana A, Mittal A, Vashist C, Rajput S, Sridhar SB, Sharma S, Malviya R. · Current topics in medicinal chemistry (2025)

To efficiently administer herbal medications, nanoparticulate formulations such as microemulsions, solid lipid nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles, liposomes, and proliposomes are being considered.
This article aims to effectively examine the ability of herbal drugs that contain NP to combat microorganisms as well as a variety of herbal plants with antibacterial properties, including thyme, clove, garlic, mallow, chamomile, and mentha pulegium.
This comprehensive analysis is timely and necessary since nanotechnology is a promising prospect in infectious disease treatment.

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4Review2025

In plain English: These plants are potent antifeedants, and at the same time provide sufficient biomass for industrial use in the development and production of botanical antifeedants.

Pavela R, Kovaříková K, Novák M. · Insects (2025)

Another promising approach is the use of plant antifeedants, which can significantly reduce the food intake of phytophagous insects.
The selection was based on a comparison of effective concentrations or doses.
Effective extracts were obtained from 85 plant species belonging to 35 families and the EOs came from 38 aromatic plant species from 11 families.

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5Reviewn=142 · medium study2024

In plain English: Conclusion These results reflect the interesting traditional medical knowledge of this population, which merits being documented.

El-Yagoubi K, Bakour M, Lyoussi B. · Avicenna journal of phytomedicine (2024)

However, 34 interviewers prefer conventional medicine.
Date palm fruits and oregano were the most commonly used medicinal plants by the Daraa Tafilalet population to enhance the immune system, followed by anise, lavender, rosemary, thyme, and pennyroyal.
These results are supported by literature data.

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6Review2015

In plain English: One example is the hepatotoxicity of pennyroyal oil, which is ingested as an abortifacient, among other uses.

Gordon P et al. · Drug Metab Rev (2015)

Three decades of mechanistic work on how pulegone injures the liver
Places pennyroyal alongside kava, chaparral and germander as herbal causes of liver injury
Notes that adverse effects of herbal supplements are widely under-reported

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View in Research Library

Pennyroyal Research

Mostly mechanism / observational

Pennyroyal toxicity: measurement of toxic metabolite levels in two cases and review of the literature.

Mentha pulegium L. and Salvia officinalis L. Bioactive Compounds: Focus on Their Application in Agriculture and Food Packaging

Advancements in Herbal Drug Loaded Nanoparticulate System for Antimicrobial Effect

Botanical Antifeedants: An Alternative Approach to Pest Control

Medicinal plants used in traditional medicine to enhance immunity: A survey in the southeastern area of Morocco and a literature review

A decades-long investigation of acute metabolism-based hepatotoxicity by herbal constituents: a case study of pennyroyal oil.