Lemon balm

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis),[1] balm,[2] common balm,[3] or balm mint, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the mint family Lamiaceae and native to south-central Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, Iran, and Central Asia, but now naturalized in the Americas and elsewhere.[4]

"Balm mint" redirects here. For the balm mint bush, see Prostanthera melissifolia.

Lemon balm
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Melissa
Species:
M. officinalis
Binomial name
Melissa officinalis

It grows to a maximum height of 70–150 cm (28–59 in). The leaves have a mild lemon scent similar to mint. During summer, small white flowers full of nectar appear. It is not to be confused with bee balm (genus Monarda), although the white flowers attract bees, hence the genus Melissa (Greek for "honey bee").

a bumblebee feeding on a lemon balm flower

The leaves are used as a herb, in teas, and also as a flavouring. The plant is used to attract bees for honey production. It is grown as an ornamental plant and for its oil (to use in perfumery). The tea of lemon balm, the essential oil, and the extract are used in traditional and alternative medicine, including aromatherapy. The plant has been cultivated at least since the 16th century, but research is still being conducted to establish the safety and effects of lemon balm.

History and domestication

Sources date the medicinal use of lemon balm to over 2000 years ago through the Greeks and Romans. It is mentioned by Theophrastus in the Historia Plantarum, dated to around 300 BC,[5] as "honey-leaf" (μελισσόφυλλον).[6] Lemon balm was formally introduced into Spain in the 7th century, from which its use and domestication spread throughout Europe.[5] Its use in the Middle Ages is noted by herbalists, writers, philosophers, and scientists, with Swiss physician and alchemist, Paracelsus, deeming it the “elixir of life”.[7][8] It was in the herbal garden of John Gerard, 1596.[9] Lemon balm was introduced to North America with the arrival of early colonists, and is recorded to have been among the herbs cultivated in Thomas Jefferson's garden.[10]

Uses

The plant is used to attract bees to make honey. It is also grown and sold as an ornamental plant. The essential oil is used as a perfume ingredient,[11] but the plant has other culinary and medicinal uses. Lemon balm is used in some toothpastes.[12]

Culinary arts

Lemon balm is used as a flavouring[11] in ice cream and herbal teas, both hot and iced, often in combination with other herbs such as spearmint. It is a common addition to peppermint tea, mostly because of its complementing flavor.

Lemon balm is also paired with fruit dishes or candies. Additionally, it can be used in fish dishes and is the main ingredient in lemon balm pesto.[13]:15–16 Its flavour comes from geraniol (3-40%), neral (3-35%), geranial (4-85%), (E)-caryophyllene (0-14%), and citronellal (1-44%).[14]

It is also one of the ingredients in Spreewald gherkins.

Traditional medicine
"Melissa" (M. officinalis) essential oil

In traditional Austrian medicine, M. officinalis leaves have been prescribed for internal use—as a tea—or external application—as an essential oil—for the treatment of disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, nervous system, liver, and bile.[15] Lemon balm is the main ingredient of Carmelite water, which is still for sale in German pharmacies.[16]

In alternative medicine it is used as a sleep aid and digestive aid.[17]

Lemon balm essential oil is popular in aromatherapy.[18] The essential oil is commonly co-distilled with lemon oil, citronella oil or other oils.

Folklore and traditional uses

Nicholas Culpeper considered lemon balm to be ruled by Jupiter in Cancer, and suggested it to be used for weak stomachs, to cause the heart to become merry, to help digestion, to open obstructions of the brain, and to expel melancholy vapors from the heart and arteries.[19]

The herbalist John Gerard considered it especially good for feeding and attracting honeybees. The alchemist Paracelsus believed that lemon balm had the power to restore health and vitality.[20] Traditionally, an alchemical tincture of lemon balm was the first tincture an aspiring alchemist made.[21]

Cultivation

Melissa officinalis is native to Europe, central Asia and Iran, but is now naturalized around the world.[13][22]

Lemon balm seeds require light and at least 20 °C (70 °F) to germinate. Lemon balm grows in clumps and spreads vegetatively, as well as by seed. In mild temperate zones, the stems of the plant die off at the start of the winter, but shoot up again in spring. Lemon balm grows vigorously; it should not be planted where it will spread into other plantings.

As of 1992, the major producing countries were Hungary, Egypt, and Italy for herb, and Ireland for essential oil.[23]

Cultivars

The many cultivars of M. officinalis include:

  • M. officinalis 'Citronella'
  • M. officinalis 'Lemonella'
  • M. officinalis 'Quedlinburger'
  • M. officinalis 'Lime'
  • M. officinalis 'Variegata'
  • M. officinalis 'Aurea'
  • M. officinalis 'Quedlinburger Niederliegende' is an improved variety bred for high essential oil content

Medical research

Sleep

Lemon balm, including lemon balm extract, has been shown to improve sleep quality.[5][24][25] Pediatric patients have displayed improvement in restlessness and dyssomnia with the ingestion of lemon balm extract.[24]

Anxiety and depression

Lemon balm is commonly associated with anti-stress and anti-anxiety.[26][27][28] Studies have shown a significant increase in calmness in healthy patients exposed to lemon balm when compared to placebo.[26] In addition, lemon balm ingestion is linked to improvement in mood and cognitive performance.[27][26] Gender and administration length appear to have an impact on the effectiveness of lemon balm as a treatment for depression in rats.[28]

Antioxidant

Several studies have demonstrated the lemon balm's antioxidant activity, obtained through high amounts of flavonoids, rosmaric acid, gallic acid and phenolic contents.[29][30][7]

Additional properties

Lemon balm has also been shown to possess antimicrobial, antiviral, antispasmodic and antitumoral properties.[7][30][31][32]

The composition and pharmacology and potential uses of lemon balm have been extensively studied, especially with regard to its traditional uses.[33] Randomized, double-blinded clinical studies in people, however, have been limited and have had few subjects. Those studies cannot be used for generalized conclusions about the safety or efficacy of lemon balm and its components; what doses are safe and effective is especially not clear.[33]

Chemistry

Lemon balm contains eugenol, tannins, and terpenes.[34] It also contains (+)-citronellal, 1-octen-3-ol, 10-α-cadinol, 3-octanol, 3-octanone, α-cubebene, α-humulene, β-bourbonene, caffeic acid, caryophyllene, caryophyllene oxide, catechin, chlorogenic acid, cis-3-hexenol, cis-ocimene, citral A, citral B, copaene, δ-cadinene, eugenyl acetate, γ-cadinene, geranial, geraniol, geranyl acetate, germacrene D, isogeranial, linalool, luteolin-7-glucoside, methylheptenone, neral, nerol, octyl benzoate, oleanolic acid, pomolic acid ((1R)-hydroxyursolic acid), protocatechuic acid, rhamnazin, rosmarinic acid, stachyose, succinic acid, thymol, trans-ocimene and ursolic acid.[35][36] Lemon balm may contain traces of harmine.[37]

Rosmarinic acid appears to be the most important active component, but the interaction of chemicals within lemon balm, and with chemicals in other herbs with which it has been commonly used in traditional medicines, is poorly understood.[33] Lemon balm leaf contains roughly 36.5 ± 0.8 mg rosmarinic acid per gram.[38]

  • Sketch of leaves and flowers
  • Leaves
  • Leaves
  • Leaves
  • Plant
  • Flowers
  • Spectral comparison showing nectar guide visible in UV
  • Lemon balm leaves in the UBC Botanical Garden
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References
  1. "Lemon balm". University of Maryland Medical Center. Apr 5, 2011. Retrieved Oct 18, 2014.
  2. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Balm" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  3. "Melissa officinalis". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  4. Kewe World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  5. Kennedy, D.O.; Scholey, Andrew B.; Tindsley, N.T.J.; Perry, E.K.; Wesnes, K.A. (2002-07-01). "Modulation of mood and cognitive performance following acute administration of Melissa officinalis (lemon balm)". Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior. 72 (4): 953–964. doi:10.1016/S0091-3057(02)00777-3. ISSN 0091-3057. PMID 12062586.
  6. Theophrastus, Enquiry into Plants, VI.1.4, identified as "M. officinalis" in the index of the Loeb Classical Library edition by Arthur F. Hort, 1916 etc.
  7. "Lemon Balm: An Herb Society of America Guide". www.herbsociety.org. 2007. Retrieved 2018-12-10.
  8. Deni., Bown (1995). Encyclopedia of herbs & their uses. Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 978-0789401847. OCLC 32166152.
  9. As "Melissa" (Common Blam) in both issues of Gerard's Catalogus, 1596, 1599: Benjamin Daydon Jackson, A catalogue of plants cultivated in the garden of John Gerard, in the years 1596–1599, 1876;
  10. Zirkle, Conway (December 2001). "Thomas Jefferson's Garden Book. Edwin Morris BettsThomas Jefferson and the Scientific Trends of His Time. Charles A. BrowneJefferson and Agriculture. Everett E. EdwardsPapers Read before the American Philosophical Society in Celebration of the Bicentennial of Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson". Isis. 37 (1/2): 84–85. doi:10.1086/347980. ISSN 0021-1753.
  11. "Taxon: Melissa officinalis L.". USDA: U.S. National Plant Germplasm System. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  12. Dousti, Mashta; et al. (2012). "Evidence-based Traditional Persian Medicine". In Rastogi, Sanjeev; Chiappelli, Francesco; Ramchandani, Manisha Harish; Singh, Ram Harsh (eds.). Evidence-based practice in complementary and alternative medicine : perspectives, protocols, problems, and potential in Ayurveda. Berlin: Springer. p. 88. ISBN 9783642245640.
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  15. Vogl, S; Picker, P; Mihaly-Bison, J; Fakhrudin, N; Atanasov, AG; Heiss, EH; Wawrosch, C; Reznicek, G; et al. (2013). "Ethnopharmacological in vitro studies on Austria's folk medicine-An unexplored lore in vitro anti-inflammatory activities of 71 Austrian traditional herbal drugs". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 149 (3): 750–71. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2013.06.007. PMC 3791396. PMID 23770053.
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  19. Culpeper, Nicholas (1814). Culpeper's Complete Herbal. No. 8, White's Row, Spitalfields.: Richard Evans. pp. 15–16.CS1 maint: location (link)
  20. Grieve, Maude (1971). A Modern Herbal Vol. I. New York: Dover Publications Inc. p. 76.
  21. Greer, John Michael (2017). Encyclopedia of Natural Magic. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications. p. 289. ISBN 9780738706740.
  22. United States Department of Agriculture, "PLANTS Profile for Melissa officinalis," http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MEOF2. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
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  32. Ulbricht, Catherine; Brendler, Thomas; Gruenwald, Joerg; Kligler, Benjamin; Keifer, David; Abrams, Tracee Rae; Woods, Jen; Boon, Heather; Kirkwood, Catherine DeFranco (2005). "Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.): an evidence-based systematic review by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration". Journal of Herbal Pharmacotherapy. 5 (4): 71–114. doi:10.1080/J157v05n04_08. ISSN 1522-8940. PMID 16635970.
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  • A Modern Herbal, 1931, by Maud Grieve. ISBN 0-486-22798-7, electronic version: Lemon Balm
  • University of Maryland Complementary and Alternative Medicine Guide: Lemon Balm. Last reviewed 1/2/2015 by Steven D. Ehrlich, NMD
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