A centuries-old folk remedy for aches and pains just earned a nod of recognition from modern medicine: researchers from the U.K.’s Newcastle University determined that Hypnis crenata, or Brazilian mint, is an effective pain reliever. Researchers first traveled to Brazil to observe traditional preparation of the remedy to determine appropriate dosage. Back in the lab, they recreated the preparation and tested the analgesic effects in mice. They found that, when prepared as a tea, the Brazilian mint proved equally effective as the commercially available medication Indometacin, which is predominately used as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic.
