peppermint oil?

[Balvenie]

Yep leave it alone, most natural extracts from plants will be oils. The oil is removed by "steeping" the leaves in a solvent and then the solvent is removed by heating in a warm water bath, leaving only the oil behind and no other contaminants. That said, some of the reviews say that they have dissolved them in PG, which is not surprising considering that PG is a diol, similar to, but not the same as an alcohol as some think. Just because it is soluble in PG doesn't make it safe, the water test is a much better indicator. If you dissolved this oil in PG and vaped it, the PG metabolises into low level acids and is dealt with by the relevant biochemical pathway, the oil will not be metabolised or broken down and will stay in your lungs.

Thanks for the info.

I've just read your thread from May 14 actually on steeping spearmint/peppermint, and why not to, which I was in two minds about whether to necrobump, but did find the post very informative so thanks for that.

In general I'd like to know more about what you can steep natural flavourings from and what you can't and was trying to find info on mint specifically (as I have some wild stuff growing in the garden) so it's interesting to hear that it's all solvent extracted usually. Shame, but good to know.

 

[Sarin]

Thanks for the info.

I've just read your thread from May 14 actually on steeping spearmint/peppermint, and why not to, which I was in two minds about whether to necrobump, but did find the post very informative so thanks for that.

In general I'd like to know more about what you can steep natural flavourings from and what you can't and was trying to find info on mint specifically (as I have some wild stuff growing in the garden) so it's interesting to hear that it's all solvent extracted usually. Shame, but good to know.

It's not the solvent that's the issue par se as it's completely evaporated off later on in the process (by exploiting differing boiling points), it's the oils that are left behind which your lungs cannot deal with. Natural flavourings are an issue due to either the oils or sugars, lemons and oranges are other problem flavours and you will often see them listed as not safe for vaping for the aforementioned reasons along with most of the mints and coffee beans (again oil). Now tobacco leaf, that's another story and safe to steep along with vanilla pods, there are a few threads on that and others are far more informed than me in the trials and errors of accomplishing it. Don't quote me on this but having a look in the food flavouring aisle for XXXX "extract" might be a good place to start for some ideas on the type of stuff that you can steep?

Sciency side note: the oils in plants are their natural defence against insects and sucking pests.
Sciency side note 2: Amyl acetate smells like pear drops but don't vape it, it's very flammable and won't taste very nice

 

[MittenKitten]

Yep leave it alone, most natural extracts from plants will be oils. The oil is removed by "steeping" the leaves in a solvent and then the solvent is removed by heating in a warm water bath, leaving only the oil behind and no other contaminants. That said, some of the reviews say that they have dissolved them in PG, which is not surprising considering that PG is a diol, similar to, but not the same as an alcohol as some think. Just because it is soluble in PG doesn't make it safe, the water test is a much better indicator. If you dissolved this oil in PG and vaped it, the PG metabolises into low level acids and is dealt with by the relevant biochemical pathway, the oil will not be metabolised or broken down and will stay in your lungs.

Spot on xx MK