High blood pressure means a significantly higher risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular diseases, motivating researchers to look for new ways to bring blood pressure numbers down – and the easier, the better.While lifestyle changes can help, we're not particularly good at sticking to diets or exercise routines. Blood pressure drugs are effective too, although again adherence can be a problem, and people generally prefer drug-free treatments if possible.In a new clinical trial, published in PLOS One, researchers in the UK tested the effects of a daily peppermint oil dose with 40 volunteers, aged between 18 and 65, over 20 days.Although it was a relatively small, short trial, the results were impressive: Those taking the peppermint oil saw an average reduction in systolic blood pressure (that's the first or top number in a reading) of 8.48 millimeters of mercury (mmHg), compared to a placebo group.That's equivalent to an 8-point reduction in blood pressure. To put that in perspective, your risk of a heart event drops by 20 percent for every 10-point drop in systolic blood pressure.Official blood pressure scoring in the US. (American Heart Association)"Our findings were very positive and they have significant clinical implications, especially given arterial hypertension is the most common preventable risk factor for cardiometabolic disease and the greatest single risk factor for global mortality," says sports and health scientist Jonnie Sinclair, from the University of Lancashire.If you're new to the peppermint plant, extracts from it have long been used as a way of easing stomach pain and bloating, and are considered antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Earlier research has tentatively suggested peppermint could help with hypertension, which is why the team behind this latest study wanted to investigate further.