Menthol

1 paper5 findings

C, W, M, H: cells, worms or flies, mice, humans. Dark: independent labs found the same change there. Light: one lab or one study. Outline: nothing yet.

Labs are independent when their papers share no last author and no institution.

Against: findings that point the other way from most findings on the same outcome.

On aging: the drug’s trials ARN judged to be about aging, of every trial that tests it for any use.

No results posted: trials that ended more than a year ago with no results on ClinicalTrials.gov and no paper in ARN’s record.

Company ties: findings with an author at a company, or from a paper whose competing-interests statement declares ties to one.

1 lab in 1 country

Funders: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and 1 more

Animals1

Outcomes

Insulin sensitivity

upin mice1

1 study

Menthol improves insulin sensitivity in mice.
“Menthol improved core temperature recovery via thermogenesis and enhanced insulin sensitivity across all strains.”
Animalsacross all six mouse strains10% weight per volume cream4 g/kg once per day15 daysmales
Strain-specific response to pharmacological cold mimicking in aging mice
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)9 Jan 2026Preprint

Core temperature recovery

upin mice1

1 study

Menthol improves core temperature recovery in mice.
“Menthol improved core temperature recovery via thermogenesis and enhanced insulin sensitivity across all strains.”
Animalsacross all six mouse strains10% weight per volume cream4 g/kg once per day15 daysmales
Strain-specific response to pharmacological cold mimicking in aging mice
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)9 Jan 2026Preprint

Associations

gluconeogenesis

mixedin mice1

1 study

Menthol is associated with gluconeogenesis in mice.
“However, effects on BAT mass, nesting behaviour, and gluconeogenesis were strain-dependent.”
Animalsstrain-dependent effects10% weight per volume cream4 g/kg once per day15 daysmales
Strain-specific response to pharmacological cold mimicking in aging mice
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)9 Jan 2026Preprint

Nesting behaviour

mixedin mice1

1 study

Menthol is associated with nesting behaviour in mice.
“However, effects on BAT mass, nesting behaviour, and gluconeogenesis were strain-dependent.”
Animalsstrain-dependent effects10% weight per volume cream4 g/kg once per day15 daysmales
Strain-specific response to pharmacological cold mimicking in aging mice
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)9 Jan 2026Preprint

Brown adipose tissue mass

mixedin mice1

1 study

Menthol is associated with brown adipose tissue mass in mice.
“However, effects on BAT mass, nesting behaviour, and gluconeogenesis were strain-dependent.”
Animalsstrain-dependent effects10% weight per volume creambrown adipose tissue4 g/kg once per day15 daysmales
Strain-specific response to pharmacological cold mimicking in aging mice
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)9 Jan 2026Preprint