Lemon Balm
Home Up Garlic Ginger Ginkgo Ginseng Hawthorn Honey Lemon Balm Licorice

 

The Romans introduced lemon balm to Britain. Dioscorides and Pliny noted the plant’s healing and relaxing properties. Avicenna in his 11th Century book on herbs called ‘The Canon of Medicine’ wrote that ‘balm maketh the heart merry and joyful, and strengthens the vital spirits’. Ancient reputation for easing cardiac and nervous disorders, and above all, for counteracting melancholy. It was widely considered to promote longevity. John Evelyn (1620-1706) said; ‘Balm is sovereign for the brain, strengthening memory and powerfully chasing away melancholy’, and Paraclesus called it ’The Elixir of Life’. Thomas Coghan, a 16th Century Oxford Don, said ‘It is an hearbe greatly to be esteemed of students, for by a special property it driveth away heaviness of mind, sharpeneth the understanding and encreaseth memory’. 

There is some modern research suggesting that lemon balm is a potent anti-oxidant and may help in Alzheimer's Disease, and infant colic.  It may be of some benefit for memory, mood, and sleep, but the research is very inadequate to date.

Agitation: Lemon Balm Helps Agitation in Nursing Homes in DB: 7 nursing homes using either sunflower oil or lemon balm oil twice a day to face and arms for 4 weeks found a greater than 29% decrease agitation in 61% of lemon balm residents vs. 15% in placebo. Ballard, J Clin Psych 02;63:553.

Alzheimer's: Lemon Balm: Aromatherapy Didn’t Work for AD: Aromatherapy for 10 weeks using an ABCBA design for 2 weeks each (A = lavender oil, B = thyme oil, C = unscented grapeseed oil) with the oil was placed every 3 hours on an absorbent fabric sachet pinned near the collarbone of each participant's shirt had no effect on agitation in severely demented patients. Cutaneous application of essential oils may be necessary to achieve the effects reported in previous controlled studies. A controlled trial of aromatherapy for agitation in nursing home patients with dementia. Snow LA, Hovanec L, Brandt J. Houston VA. J Altern Complement Med. 2004 Jun;10(3):431-7

Alzheimer's: Lemon Balm (Melissa Officialis) Helps AD in DB: In a DB PC study using 60 drops/day on 42 patients for 4 months, those given the lemon balm showed significantly greater improvement. Melissa officinalis extract in the treatment of patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease: a double blind, randomized, placebo controlled trial. Akhondzadeh S, Noroozian M, Mohammadi M, Ohadinia S, Jamshidi AH, Khani M. Tehran. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2003 Jul;74(7):863-6. Lemon balm leaves and extract are used for headaches, calming nerves, inducing sleep, and easing insect bites by herbal community. 

Anti-Oxidant Herbs: Oregano, Sage, Peppermint, garden Thyme, Lemon balm, Clove, Allspice and Cinnamon as well as the Chinese medicinal herbs Cinnamomi cortex and Scutellariae radix all contained very high concentrations of antioxidants (i.e., >75 mmol/100 g). Several culinary and medicinal herbs are important sources of dietary antioxidants. Dragland S, Senoo H, Wake K, Holte K, Blomhoff R. J Nutr. 2003 May;133(5):1286-90;

Colicky Babies: Lemon Balm Herbal Remedy Helped: In a 1-week DB PC study of 93 breastfed colicky infants, the daily average crying time for the herbal treatment was 201 min/day at the baseline and 77 min/day at the end of the study; for the placebo it was 199 min/day and 170 min/day (p < 0.005). No side effects were reported. A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of a standardized extract of Matricariae recutita, Foeniculum vulgare and Melissa officinalis (ColiMil((R))) in the treatment of breastfed colicky infants. Savino F, et al. Universita di Torino, Italy. Phytother Res. 2005 Apr;19(4):335-40  

Memory & Mood: Lemon Balm Helped: Single weekly dose varying amounts of dry leaf or placebo in capsule to 20 college students found that 1600 mg dry leaf was best. Says potential for treating AD. Northumbria Univ (sage study place). Modulation of Mood and Cognitive Performance Following Acute Administration of Single Doses of Melissa Officinalis (Lemon Balm) with Human CNS Nicotinic and Muscarinic Receptor-Binding Properties. Kennedy DO, Wake G, Savelev S, Tildesley NT, Perry EK, Wesnes KA, Scholey AB. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2003 Jul 23; Also, oregano, sage, peppermint, garden thyme, lemon balm, clove, allspice and cinnamon as well as the Chinese medicinal herbs Cinnamomi cortex and Scutellariae radix all contained very high concentrations of antioxidants (i.e., >75 mmol/100 g). Several culinary and medicinal herbs are important sources of dietary antioxidants. Dragland S, Senoo H, Wake K, Holte K, Blomhoff R. J Nutr. 2003 May;133(5):1286-90; German chamomile, lavender, hops, lemon balm and passionflower are reputed to be mild sedatives but need much more experimental examination. Valerian best herbal sedative. Univ of Illinois at Chicago, Efficacy and safety of herbal stimulants and sedatives in sleep disorders. Gyllenhaal C, Merritt SL, Peterson SD, Block KI, Gochenour T. Sleep Med Rev. 2000 Jun;4(3):229-251. 

Memory & Mood: Lemon Balm Helped: Single weekly dose varying amounts of dry leaf or placebo in capsule to 20 college students. 1600mg dry leaf best. Says potential for treating AD. Northumbria Univ (sage study place). Modulation of Mood and Cognitive Performance Following Acute Administration of Single Doses of Melissa Officinalis (Lemon Balm) with Human CNS Nicotinic and Muscarinic Receptor-Binding Properties. Kennedy DO, Wake G, Savelev S, Tildesley NT, Perry EK, Wesnes KA, Scholey AB. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2003 Jul 23; 

Sedative Herbals: Valerian Best; Then German Chamomile, Lavender, Hops, Lemon Balm and Passionflower are reputed to be mild sedatives but need much more experimental examination. Valerian best herbal sedative. UIC, Efficacy and safety of herbal stimulants and sedatives in sleep disorders. Gyllenhaal C, Merritt SL, Peterson SD, Block KI, Gochenour T. Sleep Med Rev. 2000 Jun;4(3):229-251.