About Wintergreen Leaf Oil

As a medicinal herb wintergreen has numerous functions. The herb is robustly anti-inflammatory, has anti-septic properties and is comforting to the digestive system. While wintergreen is an efficient medication to heal rheumatic and arthritic problems, the tea prepared with the herb helps in alleviating flatulence and colic. The oil extracted from wintergreen leaves is used as a cream or ointment and applied externally to get relief from pains and spasms. Wintergreen oil relaxes irritating, engorged or aching muscles, ligaments and body joints. It has also been found to be useful in curing neurological conditions like sciatica (an excruciating pain owing to pressure on a nerve in the lower part of the vertebrate column) as well as trigeminal neuralgia (pain distressing the facial nerve). Wintergreen leaf oil is also beneficial in healing cellulites, an infection caused by bacteria that leads to the swelling and irritation of the skin. It may be mentioned here that the Inuit of Labrador and many other native people consume the wintergreen berries uncooked, while they use the leaves of the herb to cure headaches, painful muscles as well as sore throats.