SynthesisScientific reports2020
Menthol can be safely applied to improve thermal perception during physical exercise: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of carbohydrate, caffeine and menthol mouth rinses on exercise performance and ratings of perceived exertion: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of different menthol administration routes on endurance performance and physiological responses in the heat: a network meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of internal cooling on physical performance, physiological and perceptional parameters when exercising in the heat: A systematic review with meta-analyses.Frontiers in physiology · 2023Pooled it
- Performance effects of internal pre- and per-cooling across different exercise and environmental conditions: A systematic review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Macrophage migration inhibitory factor as a diagnostic and predictive biomarker in sepsis: meta-analysis of clinical trials.Scientific reports · 2021Pooled it
- Nutrition for Tactical Athletes: Insights, Applications and Research Gaps.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Review
- Topical application of the cold-mimetic l-menthol decreases wheel running without affecting the beneficial effects of voluntary exercise in mice.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- Menthol in Livestock: Unveiling Its Multifaceted Properties and Future Potential for Sustainable Agriculture.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Cumulative pre-cooling methods do not enhance cycling performance in tropical climate.PloS one · 2023Article
- Temperate Air Breathing Increases Cycling Performance in Hot and Humid Climate Environment.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Menthol is often used as a cold-mimicking substance to allegedly enhance performance during physical activity, however menthol-induced activation of cold-defence responses during exercise can intensify heat accumulation in the body. This meta-analysis aimed at studying the effects of menthol on thermal perception and thermophysiological homeostasis during exercise. PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases were searched until May 2020. Menthol caused cooler thermal sensation by weighted mean difference (WMD) of - 1.65 (95% CI, - 2.96 to - 0.33) and tended to improve thermal comfort (WMD = 1.42; 95% CI, - 0.13 to 2.96) during physical exercise. However, there was no meaningful difference in sweat production (WMD = - 24.10 ml; 95% CI, - 139.59 to 91.39 ml), deep body temperature (WMD = 0.02 °C; 95% CI, - 0.11 to 0.15 °C), and heart rate (WMD = 2.67 bpm; 95% CI - 0.74 to 6.09 bpm) between the treatment groups. Menthol improved the performance time in certain subgroups, which are discussed. Our findings suggest that different factors, viz., external application, warmer environment, and higher body mass index can improve menthol's effects on endurance performance, however menthol does not compromise warmth-defence responses during exercise, thus it can be safely applied by athletes from the thermoregulation point of view.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.