Spearmint is also valuable for treating digestive symptoms including: indigestion; nausea; vomiting; motion sickness; colic; hiccough, flatulence; gastro-intestinal inflammation. As noted above, spearmint oil contains esters of butyric and caprylic acids. Butyric and caprylic acids are both used in naturopathic medicine. Butyric acid compounds (calcium butyrate and magnesium butyrate) are used to help normalize colon function. Butyric acid, a fatty acid formed naturally by colon bacteria, helps maintain a healthy pH in, and otherwise protects, the intestinal tract. There tends to be deficient colon production of butyric acid in individuals who suffer from food allergies, eczema, diverticulitis, gastrointestinal ulcers, colitis and other colon-related disorders. Caprylic acid, produced in small quantities by the body and commercially extracted from coconut oil or palm oil, is a fatty acid which exerts a potent antifungal action. Hence, caprylic acid supplementation is sometimes used to treat Candida albicans infection.