Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) turns up in my practice virtually every day — as an organic fresh tincture, as a dried herb, and as an essential oil. Its benefits reach across so many body systems that I would simply not want to be without it.
So let's look more closely at this zingy, lemon-scented member of the mint family, and at how it earned its reputation as a principal nervine, digestive and heart herb.
Melissa for mood
Human studies have shown lemon balm elevating mood, improving memory and cognition, and even relieving symptoms of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease such as irritability.
Two separate studies found it elevated mood and improved cognitive performance in healthy young participants, whether administered as a medicine or in food.¹ ² An extract of the leaf also produced dramatic effects in stressed volunteers over a 15-day study: 70% of subjects achieved full remission for anxiety, 85% for insomnia, and 70% for both.³ That 2011 study was the first human trial to demonstrate lemon balm's capacity to relieve stress-related symptoms, with 95% of participants responding to treatment.
In my own practice I use it for seasonal affective disorder and other depressions, alongside nervines such as St John's Wort, rose and lime flowers; for poor sleep or anxiety, alongside passionflower, skullcap and oats; and for pre-menstrual and other forms of tension, alongside motherwort, vervain and cramp bark.
Melissa for "opening"
I think of lemon balm as an opening remedy. It opens and relaxes the heart centre, releasing negative emotions. It opens the circulation for a gently warming effect. And through its carminative essential oils it opens up digestion, easing cramps, bloating and indigestion.
It opens the bowels too, in constipation associated with stress or anxiety — and it opens the appetite in people too tense to eat, relaxing the stomach so the juices can flow.
Because it opens the circulation and calms the heart, it is used alongside other herbs to bring down mildly elevated blood pressure, and for palpitations associated with hyperthyroidism. It can help with other symptoms of an overactive thyroid as well, insomnia and anxiety among them, and compounds in the plant have been investigated for "anti-thyrotropic" activity.⁴
Antiviral activity
Lemon balm essential oil is also an excellent topical antiviral for cold sores (herpes simplex) and shingles (herpes zoster). A 2008 study showed significant reduction in plaque formation with the oil against both HSV-1 (oral herpes) and HSV-2 (genital herpes), and at higher concentrations the oil abolished viral infectivity almost entirely.⁵
In practice I combine St John's Wort infused oil, liquorice base cream, lemon balm tincture and lemon balm essential oil for cold sores and shingles, with excellent results.
References
Cited by the original article:
Kennedy et al. (2002) Modulation of mood and cognitive performance following acute administration of Melissa officinalis (lemon balm). Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2002;72(4):953-64.
Scholey et al. (2014) Anti-stress effects of lemon balm-containing foods. Nutrients, 6(11):4805–4821.
Cases et al. (2011) Pilot trial of Melissa officinalis L. leaf extract in the treatment of volunteers suffering from mild-to-moderate anxiety disorders and sleep disturbances. Med J Nutrition Metab. 2011;4(3):211-218.
Auf'mkolk et al. (1985) The active principles of plant extracts with antithyrotropic activity: oxidation products of derivatives of 3,4-dihydroxycinnamic acid. Endocrinology. 1985;116(5):1677-86.
Schnitzler et al. (2008) Melissa officinalis oil affects infectivity of enveloped herpesviruses. Phytomedicine. 2008;15(9):734-40.
