| Some Products using Lemon Balm | ||
| Product | Health Issue | Other Herbal Ingredients |
| children | echinacea, astragalus, burdock, mint/peppermint, | |
| children | meadowsweet, feverfew, echinacea, skullcap, yarrow | |
| respiratory | garlic, oregano, echinacea, elderberry, goldseal, green tea,astralagus, mint, meadowsweet | |
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| Return |
| Learn which herbs are commonly used to treat |
Traditional Uses
Lemon balm has been used since the Middle Ages to aleviate stress and anxiety, promote sleep and appetite, and to ease pain and discomfort associated with digestion (including flatulence and bloating as well as colic).
Even earlier, lemon balm steeped in wine was thought to lift the spirits, help heal wounds, and treat venomous insect bites and stings
Current uses
Lemon balm (Melissa Officinalis) is indigenous to the Mediterranean, but is widespread throughout the world.
It is often used as a general nervous system restorative, digestive calmative and to reduce blood pressure. Its active ingredients include volatile oil, tannins, flavinoids, tocopherols and choline.
Clinical trials are suggesting that melissa's volatile oils make it a promising remedy for treating cold sores, the painful lip lesions caused by the herpes virus. Melissa has been shown to speed healing of the lesions, especially when taken at the first signs of an outbreak.
Topical formulations of melissa have also been recommended for treating shingles, a relatively common and quite painful skin condition that is caused by another relative to the herpes simplex virus.
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News Comment
Lemon balm 'boosts memory'
BBC News mar 2006
Taking lemon balm can boost memory as well as improve mood, researchers have found.
Is my high-protein diet giving me this terrible insomnia?
Times Online, UK - Apr 2006
... remedies/teas that I have found useful, especially camomile or lemon balm tea. ...
Qi-energy meridian massage
Malaysia Star, Malaysia - Apr 2006
... For each health benefit, choose the appropriate essential oil to enhance the ... you can use chamomile, ginseng, green bamboo, lavender, lemon balm and valerian. ...
Precautions and side effects (refer also to statements below)
Excessive amounts of lemon balm can cause excessive drowsiness and should not be taken in conjunction with other sedatives or alcohol.
Research
Research indicates that Lemon balm may improve cognitive function and is being trialled as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease (refer article "Lemon Balm improves memory" on this page
It has also been shown to speed up the healing of herpes labialis and it is surmised that genital lesions caused by the herpes simplex virus may also respond favourably.