ArticleEuropean journal of applied physiology2010
The effect of menthol application to the skin on sweating rate response during exercise in swimmers and controls.
Article in European journal of applied physiology, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of different menthol administration routes on endurance performance and physiological responses in the heat: a network meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Menthol can be safely applied to improve thermal perception during physical exercise: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Scientific reports · 2020Pooled it
- Oral L-menthol reduces thermal sensation, increases work-rate and extends time to exhaustion, in the heat at a fixed rating of perceived exertion.European journal of applied physiology · 2017Trial
- The influence of menthol on thermoregulation and perception during exercise in warm, humid conditions.European journal of applied physiology · 2010Trial
- Influence of topical menthol gel on thermoregulation and perception while walking in the heat.European journal of applied physiology · 2024Article
- Effects of cutaneous administration of an over-the-counter menthol cream during temperate-water immersion for exercise-induced hyperthermia in men.Frontiers in physiology · 2023Article
- Topical Analgesic Containing Methyl Salicylate and L-Menthol Accelerates Heat Loss During Skin Cooling for Exercise-Induced Hyperthermia.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Article
- Menthol as an Ergogenic Aid for the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games: An Expert-Led Consensus Statement Using the Modified Delphi Method.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2020Article
- Current Knowledge on the Vascular Effects of Menthol.Frontiers in physiology · 2020Review
- Thermoregulatory and cardiovasculareffects of capsaicin application on human skin during dynamic exercise to temperate and warm conditions.Physiological reports · 2019Article
- Endurance Performance is Influenced by Perceptions of Pain and Temperature: Theory, Applications and Safety Considerations.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2018Review
- Menthol: A Fresh Ergogenic Aid for Athletic Performance.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2017Article
- Body regional influences of L-menthol application on the alleviation of heat strain while wearing firefighter's protective clothing.European journal of applied physiology · 2012Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
We tested the hypothesis that menthol application would reduce the magnitude and initiation of sweating via excitation of cold-sensitive afferent pathways and concurrently via a cross-inhibition of heat loss pathways in acclimatized (swimmers, SW) and non acclimatized (control, CON) subjects in cool water. It was expected this effect to be exaggerated in SW subjects. Eight SW and eight CON subjects cycled at 60% of their VO(2)max, as long as to reach 38 degrees C in rectal temperature (Tre), without or with (4.6 g per 100 ml of water) all-body application of menthol sediment. Heart rate (HR), Tre, sweating rate (SwR), the proximal-distal skin temperature gradient (TSk(f-f)), and oxygen consumption (VO(2)) were measured continuously. VO(2) and HR were similar between groups and conditions. Menthol increased TSk(f-f), Tre threshold for SwR [+0.32 (0.01) degrees C] and Tre gain, while menthol reduced exercise time by 8.1 (4.1) min. SW group showed higher changes in Tre threshold for SwR [+0.50 (0.01) degrees C for SW vs. +0.13 (0.03) degrees C for CON], higher Tre gain, lower time for Tre increase and shorter exercise time [-10.7 (7) min for SW vs. -4.9 (4) min for CON] in menthol condition. Upon exercise initiation, previously applied menthol on the skin seems to induce vasoconstriction, results in a delayed sweating, which in turn affects the rectal temperature. Acclimatized subjects showed higher delay in SwR and earlier rise in Tre, which most probably is due to the inter-group differences in cold receptors activity.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.