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Lemon Balm

Also known as: Melissa officinalis, Melissa officinalis L., Sweet Balm, Common Balm, Bee Herb, Melissa, Erva-cidreira, Zitronenmelisse, Melissa leaf, Melissae folium, Folium melissae, Melissophyllon, Melisa, Mélisse, Toronjil

Overview

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is a small, bushy perennial herb in the mint family. Its small white flowers are much beloved by bees: The genus name, Melissa, is Greek for “honey bee”. The plant has a two-thousand-year history of use in food as a sweetener and flavoring agent. Lemon balm’s leaves release a strong lemon scent when crushed. The leaves are traditionally used in European herbal medicine for stress relief, for bloating and flatulence, as a sleep aid and externally as an antiviral, particularly for cold sores. Middle Eastern traditional medicine has used the whole lemon balm plant to treat stress, insomnia, depression, anxiety, heart palpitations, paralysis, epilepsy, rheumatism (externally), cough, and fever. Lemon balm is also used as a natural food flavoring in Europe and the FDA lists lemon balm as generally regarded as safe (GRAS) when used as a spice, as well as listing its essential oil (known as Balm Oil) as GRAS as a flavoring ingredient.

Benefits

Lemon balm is rich in antioxidants, some of which may help improve stress and anxiety by increasing the levels of the neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain, as well as reducing oxidative stress. Lemon balm’s antioxidants are likely also responsible for its positive effects on blood lipids. Some, but not all, lemon balm extracts have effects on nicotinic and muscarinic receptors in the lab. Although we know that these receptors play a role in forming new memories, it’s not clear whether lemon balm’s effect on them in the lab translates into cognitive effects in humans. Finally, in vitro research has found that in the lab, lemon balm extracts may keep herpes viruses from attaching to and entering cells, interfere with viral replication, keep the virus from aggregating into plaques, and directly affect the virus’s envelope. Some of these antiviral effects are attributable to lemon balm’s water-soluble polyphenols, notably rosmarinic acid, and some can be attributed to components of the essential oil, such as citral and citronellal.

How it works

Lemon balm’s main benefits are the reduction of anxiety and depression; it can also benefit sleep, especially in the context of anxiety, depression and stress, and may help with PMS symptoms. Lemon balm can also reduce total cholesterol, especially in people with cardiometabolic conditions, and may also improve levels of other blood lipids and reduce systolic blood pressure. Lemon balm cream is moderately effective for oral herpes lesions (cold sores) when applied at the first sign of a sore but is probably not as effective as oral antivirals. Lemon balm has shown some promise for other skin conditions, for agitation in people with dementia, and for heart palpitations, but more research is needed. Lemon balm has also been studied for memory, dementia, and sleep bruxism, but the limited amount of human research does not show promise. Finally, lemon balm has traditionally been used to help digestion, but there is not much human research in this area to date.

Side effects

Oral: Lemon balm can be taken as an herbal tea (dried, broken-up herb infused in boiling water), as powdered dried herb, as a tincture, as a liquid extract of the dry herb, or as a dried liquid extract. Topical: A cream or ointment formulated with liquid or dried extract can be applied directly to the skin. Alternatively, a cotton ball soaked in lemon balm tea can be applied to the skin. Aromatherapy: Lemon balm essential oil’s odor can be inhaled, or the oil can be diluted in a carrier oil and used for aromatherapeutic massage. Note that while lemon balm extracts are taken orally, lemon balm oil is not taken orally; animal studies suggest that it is moderately toxic. Range of dosages studied: Oral: As dried leaf, herb for tea, or extract: 700 mg to 4 grams/day. Standardized extracts: 400 to 600 mg daily in divided doses; dried extract providing 500 mg/day of rosmarinic acid; as a single, one-time dose, 300–1600 mg of dried ethanolic extract. Liquid extract: 60 drops/day of hydroalcoholic extract. Topical: 1% cream or gel, applied two to five times daily. Aromatherapy: Aromatherapy with lemon balm essential oil (also known as balm oil) has been used in clinical trials as follows: (a) 2–3 drops on cotton, held near the face and inhaled for 30 minutes to 2 hours (b) diluted in a carrier oil (2–10%) and applied or massaged onto the skin twice a day.

Dosage

As might be expected given its 2,000-year history of traditional use as a food, tea and medicine, lemon balm has an excellent safety track record. No serious negative effects have been associated with lemon balm to date. The flip side of lemon balm’s calming, sedative effect, however, is that it may reduce alertness. Other things to be aware of: People with glaucoma should use care because of anecdotal reports that lemon balm may increase intraocular pressure. People with thyroid conditions should use care because of the theoretical possibility of lemon balm affecting thyroid hormone levels. People who take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) should be aware of the theoretical possibility that lemon balm could reduce their effectiveness.

FAQs

What is lemon balm?

What bioactive compounds are in lemon balm?

Lemon balm is a rich source of antioxidant phenolic compounds, but its leaves have a relatively low essential oil content for a plant in the mint family, ranging from 0.01 to 0.72% of dry weight, with a tea extracting 10 mg/L. Because of the herb’s low content of volatile essential oil, the herb may be best used within six months of harvest. Leaves: The dried leaves contain many polyphenols, notably rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, isoquercetin (a glucoside of quercetin), gallic acid, and rutin; they also contain several triterpenes, notably oleanolic acid and ursolic acid.

Is lemon balm known by any other names?

As a traditional food plant and herbal medicine in many cultures, lemon balm has picked up a bevy of common names, and not all of them line up with our modern botanical definition of the species. In addition to the names listed as 'also known as' on our lemon balm page, which are exclusively used for lemon balm, there are several common names that sometimes refer to lemon balm and sometimes to other plants.

What are lemon balm’s main benefits?

How does lemon balm benefit anxiety, depression and sleep?

Lemon balm appears to reduce anxiety substantially, according to a 2021 meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials, although there wasn’t good agreement on the effect size between the studies included in the meta-analysis. Lemon balm may be more effective for immediate or situational (acute) anxiety than for long-term (chronic) anxiety. In the reviewed studies, lemon balm decreased acute anxiety in hospitalized patients with burns, acute coronary artery syndrome, and coronary artery bypass grafts, as well as in teenage girls with PMS, with an overall large effect size; it also decreased chronic anxiety in office workers and hospitalized patients with chronic stable angina, with an overall moderate effect size. However, there was a high risk of bias in most of the studies; more high-quality research is needed.

How effective is lemon balm at treating herpes sores?

There are two types of herpes simplex virus (HSV): HSV-1 and HSV-2. Following the initial infection, HSV often becomes chronic, causing recurrent outbreaks of sores in either the oral or genital areas. Oral herpes is typically, but not always, caused by HSV-1; genital herpes is typically, but not always, caused by HSV-2. The sores (in oral herpes, 'cold sores') are often preceded by a tingling sensation, followed by blistering, which can be quite painful. The sores will resolve on their own without treatment in 2 to 3 weeks. There is no cure for HSV infection, but the duration of the sores can be reduced by treatment with oral or topical (applied to the skin) antiviral medication at the first sign of an outbreak; in people who have frequent outbreaks or are immunocompromised, the frequency of outbreaks may be reduced with longer courses of oral antivirals.

Could lemon balm help with any other skin conditions?

There is very little human research on this front. A few randomized controlled trials in Iran have investigated lemon balm for psoriasis, itching after a burn, and oral lichenoid lesions. Postburn itching: A 2019 study in hospitalized burn patients in Iran found that the participants who drank lemon balm tea twice daily, with snacks, reported less itching in the third week after the burn than the participants who didn’t drink lemon balm tea. However, this study had methodological and reporting issues, with a risk of bias in multiple areas.

Does lemon balm help with PMS symptoms?

Several randomized controlled trials in Iran have looked at lemon balm’s effectiveness for the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), finding greater reductions in PMS symptoms with lemon balm than with a placebo. However, the existing research is of fairly low quality, and all the trials have been in young Iranian women; higher-quality research in a broader population is needed.

Could lemon balm help people with dementia?

Rosmarinic acid (RA), which is found in lemon balm, has showed promise for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in lab and animal studies, preventing amyloid β-protein from forming the fibrils that lead to the plaques and tangles characteristic of AD, but there isn’t much evidence that this will translate to people. An early randomized controlled trial (RCT) of hydroalcoholic lemon balm extract in 42 adults in Iran with mild to moderate AD found cognitive improvements over four months, although there was some risk of randomization and reporting bias in that trial. But more recent research hasn’t borne this out. A small 2020 RCT of lemon balm extract (providing 500 mg/day of RA) in 23 adults in Japan with mild dementia likely caused by AD found that, while lemon balm was safe and effective, there were no cognitive differences between the lemon balm and the placebo groups; the only significant difference was a reduction in the 'irritation/lability' subscale on one test, which is in line with what we know about lemon balm’s calming effect.

Can lemon balm reduce cholesterol?

There’s evidence that lemon balm supplementation may reduce (improve) total cholesterol levels. A 2024 meta-analysis found that supplementation with lemon balm reduced total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides, compared to a placebo. The included studies ran from 8–24 weeks, and lemon balm was given as leaf, powder, or tea in doses ranging from 700 mg/day to 4 grams/day. The effect size was small to moderate for triglycerides and total cholesterol and small for LDL cholesterol. However, all the studies in this meta-analysis were in people with cardiometabolic conditions (type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, chronic stable angina, or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease), so it’s not clear whether the results would apply to people with no diagnosed health conditions.

Can lemon balm reduce blood pressure?

A 2020 meta-analysis of 6 studies found that lemon balm may also reduce systolic blood pressure (the first number in a blood pressure reading), but not diastolic blood pressure.

Does lemon balm help digestion?

Although lemon balm has been recognized by the European Medicines Agency as a traditional herbal medicinal for digestion, there isn’t much human research into this use. Most studies have focused on lemon balm in combination with several other herbs. A 2019 in vitro study of lemon balm extract on mouse digestive system tissue (outside the mouse) found that lemon balm extract had a spasmolytic (muscle-relaxing) effect, which is in line with lemon balm’s traditional use as a digestive aid; however, much more research is needed into lemon balm’s effect on the human digestive system.

Could lemon balm help people with benign heart palpitations?

Maybe, although there is not much research in this area. One 2015 randomized clinical trial in 71 people in Iran with benign heart palpitations who took either a placebo or 1,000 mg of freeze-dried lemon balm extract for 14 days found that, in the 55 participants who completed the study, the participants who took lemon balm reported less-frequent palpitations than the participants who took the placebo. The number of participants in the lemon balm group with anxiety and insomnia also decreased more than in the placebo group. However, this was a single study; more research is needed.

Has lemon balm been studied for teeth-grinding?

There is very little human research, and it is not promising. A single 2016 randomized controlled trial in children with sleep bruxism (grinding teeth while asleep) didn’t find any effect after a month of lemon balm tincture.