Melissa officinalis - Lemon balm

Lamiaceae (Mint family) [E-flora]

Melissa officinalis is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.7 m (2ft 4in) by 0.4 m (1ft 4in) at a fast rate.
It is hardy to zone (UK) 4 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from Jun to October, and the seeds ripen from Aug to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees.It is noted for attracting wildlife.
Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

General: Lemon-scented, perennial herb from a woody rhizome or elongate stem-base and fibrous roots; stems erect, 30-100 cm tall, branched, somewhat hairy and glandular-hairy, 4-angled; cultivated for sweet scent.

Habitat / Range Mesic to dry disturbed areas in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; rare in SW and SC BC; introduced from Europe.

Can cause irritation in high concentrates. Avoid during pregnancy. Care if sensitive skin [301].

Edible Uses

raw or cooked. A pleasant lemon-like aroma and flavour, they are used mainly as a flavouring in salads and cooked foods[5, 7, 8, 9, 14, 27, 183PFAF].
Tea: A lemon-flavoured tea can be made from the fresh or dried leaves[21, 183PFAF]. A bunch of the leaves can be added to china tea, much improving the flavour, the leaves are also added to fruit cups etc[4PFAF].
Flavoring: They are used as a flavouring in various alcoholic beverages including Chartreuse and Benedictine[238PFAF].
Balm is still grown for its strongly lemon-scented leaves, which make a refreshing tea. The leaves can also be added to wine-cups, or they can act as a substitute for lemons in stuffings and salads, and can be used to give a tang to apple jelly.[FFF Mabey]

Other Uses

The growing plant is said to repel flies and ants[14PFAF]. It is also rubbed on the skin as a repellent[238PFAF], though the essential oil would be more effective here[KPFAF].

An essential oil is obtained from the plant[100PFAF] (the exact part is not specified, it is probably the entire plant and especially the flowering stems). It is used medicinally.

The whole plant is very pleasantly aromatic, the aroma lasting for a long time after the plant has been harvested. It is therefore a very useful ingredient in pot-pourri[4PFAF]. []

Medicinal Uses
The German Commission E Monographs, a therapeutic guide to herbal medicine, approve Melissa officinalis for nervousness and insomnia (see [302PFAF] for critics of commission E).
The plant can be used fresh or dried, for drying it is harvested just before or just after flowering[9PFAF]. Cold Sores: The plant contains polyphenols, in particular these combat the herpes simplex virus which produces cold sores[254PFAF].

Lemon balm is a commonly grown household remedy with a long tradition as a tonic remedy that raises the spirits and lifts the heart [254PFAF]. []
Cold Sores: Modern research has shown that it can help significantly in the treatment of cold sores[254PFAF].

Antibacterial, antispasmodic, antiviral, carminative, diaphoretic, digestive, emmenagogue, febrifuge, sedative, and tonic[4, 7, 9, 21, 165, 238PFAF]. It also acts to inhibit thyroid activity[238PFAF].
Externally, it is used to treat herpes, sores, gout, insect bites and as an insect repellent[238PFAF].

contains citral and citronella, which act to calm the central nervous system and are strongly antispasmodic[254PFAF]. The essential oil is used in aromatherapy. Its keyword is 'Female aspects'[210PFAF]. It is used to relax and rejuvenate, especially in cases of depression and nervous tension[238PFAF].

Infusion: An infusion of the leaves is used in the treatment of fevers and colds, indigestion associated with nervous tension, excitability and digestive upsets in children, hyperthyroidism, depression, mild insomnia, headaches etc[4, 9, 238PFAF].

Medicinal
Medicinal Parts: The medicinal parts are the oil extracted by distillation, the dried leaves, the fresh leaves and the whole plant
Characteristics: Before flowering, the taste and smell is lemon-like, later becoming astringent to balm-like and warming
Production: Lemon balm is the fresh or dried leaves of Melissa officinalis as well as its preparations. The leaves are collected before flowering or before there is too much branching. Leaves and stem are separated and comminuted and dried quickly at temperatures between 30 to 40° C.
ACTIONS AND PHARMACOLOGY
COMPOUNDS
Volatile Oil{(W2-0.8%): chief components geranial (citral a), neral (citral "S), citronellal (together 40^75% of the volatile oil, aroma-carrier), furthermore, linalool, geraniol, geranylactetate, methyl citronellate, trans-P-ocimene, 1-Octen-3-ol, 6-methyl-5-heptene-2-on. beta-caryophyllene, caryophyllebepoxide, germacren D, eugenol
Glycosides: of the alcoholic or phenolic components of the volatile oil, for example eugenol glucoside
Caffeic acid derivatives: rosmaric acid (up to 4.7%)
Flavonoids: including among others cynaroside, cosmosiin, rhamnocitrin, isoquercitrin
Triterpene acids: including among others ursolic acid. Only the very fresh drug (maximum 6 months old) is usable as a sedative, because of the low volatile oil content and its high volatility; the requirements of the German-language medication texts do not take this into consideration (no minimum
content requirement given).
EFFECTS
The drug has mild sedative and carminative, spasmolytic, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-oxidative and anti-hormonal effects.
INDICATION S AND USAGE
Approved by Commission E:
• Nervousness and insomnia
The drug is used for nervous agitation and sleeping problems.
Unproven Uses: In folk medicine, the drug is utilized as decoctions of the flowering shoots for nervous complaints, lower abdominal disorders, meteorism, nervous gastric complaints, hysteria and melancholia, chronic bronchial catarrh, nervous palpitations, vomiting, migraine, nervous debility, headache and high blood pressure. It is used externally for rheumatism, nerve pains and stiff necks (compress).
Homeopathic Uses: Melissa officinalis is used for menstrual irregularities.
PRECAUTIONS AND ADVERSE REACTIONS
No health hazards or side effects are known in conjunction with the proper administration of designated therapeutic dosages.
DOSAGE
Mode of Administration: Comminuted herb, herb powder, liquid extracts or dry extracts for teas and other galenic preparations; liquid and solid forms for internal and external use; combinations with other sedative and/or carminative herbs may be beneficial.
How Supplied: . .
Capsules — 395 mg Preparation: To prepare an infusion pour one cup of hot water over 1.5 to 4.5 gm of the drug and strain after 10 minutes.
Daily Dosage: The average daily dose is 1.5 to 4.5 gm of drug.
Homeopathic Dosage: 5 drops, 1 tablet or 10 globules every 30 to 60 minutes (acute) or 1 to 3 times daily (chronic); parenterally: 1 to 2 ml sc acute, 3 times daily; chronic: once a day (HAB34).
Storage: Store in well-sealed, non-plastic containers, protected from light and moisture for up to 1 year.

Part(s) Used Dried leaves and flowering tops
Dosage
Dosages for oral administration (adults) for traditional uses recommended in standard herbal reference texts are given below. Dried herb 1.5–4.5 g as an infusion in 150 mL water several times daily.(G4)
Topical application Cream containing 1% of a lyophilised aqueous extract of dried leaves of Melissa officinalis (70 : 1) two to four times daily.(G52)
Lemon balm is used to give fragrance to wine, tea and beer. Lemon balm (herb, flowers, flower tips) is listed by the Council of Europe as a natural source of food flavouring (category N2). This category indicates that lemon balm can be added to foodstuffs in small quantities, with a possible limitation of an active principle (as yet unspecified) in the final product.(G16) Previously, lemon balm has been listed as GRAS (Generally Recognised As Safe).(G65)
Herbal Use
Lemon balm has been used traditionally for its sedative, spasmolytic and antibacterial properties.(G54) It is also stated to be a carminative, diaphoretic and a febrifuge,(G64) and has been used for headaches, gastrointestinal disorders, nervousness and rheumatism.(5) Current interest is focused on its use as a sedative, and topically in herpes simplex labialis as a result of infection with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). The German Commission E monographs state that lemon balm can be used for nervous sleeping disorders and functional gastrointestinal complaints.(G4)
Antimicrobial activity Antimicrobial activity of essential oil extracted from M. officinalis by steam distillation, determined using a micro-atmospheric technique, has been reported against the yeasts Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and against Pseudomonas putida, Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Proteus vulgaris, Shigella sonnei and Escherichia coli.(12)

Lore
BEE BALM (Melissa officinalis) The leaves have a lemon fragrance, and because of this it was used as a strewing herb (Clair), with a “quasi-medicinal” effect, as one writer put it (Fletcher). The stems were woven into chaplets for ladies to wear (Genders. 1972), and even the juice was used as a furniture polish which also gave the wood a sweet perfume. Not surprisingly, balm is the symbol of pleasantry (Leyel. 1937).
Melissa means a bee, and has the reputation of keeping bees in their hive. Gerard said :“ The hives of bees being rubbed with the leaves of Bawme, causeth the bees to keep together, and causeth others to come unto them”, a belief still current in East Anglia, where they say that if this grows in the garden, the bees will not leave the hive (G E Evans. 1966). Wiltshire beekeepers agree; they rub the inside of the skeps with it (Wiltshire) after hiving a new swarm, to encourage them to stay.
But it is in the sphere of popular medicine that balm is important. A tale from Staffordshire tells how Ahasuerus, the Wandering Jew, knocked at the door of a cottage, and found the occupant ill. The Jew was asked in and offered a glass of ale. In return, the patient was told to gather three balm leaves and to put them in a cup of ale, and to drink it, refilling the cup when it was empty, and adding fresh leaves every fourth day. He was cured in twelve days (M Baker. 1980). Aubrey. 1696 mentions a story that is probably the same as the Staffordshire legend, about an old man who was cured of his lameness by taking balm leaves in beer. But balm tea is the most widely used medicine, for stomach upsets or colic in Gloucestershire, but more commonly elsewhere for colds, especially if feverish, for it has the effect of promoting sweating (Conway). It makes a pleasant drink for influenza patients (A W Hatfield. 1973), and has even been recommended for bronchitis (Flück). Fresh leaves are best, and the usual recipe is an ounce of leaves to a pint of boiling water, when lemon juice or sugar can be added when cool, if the patient prefers it (Rohde. 1936).
Oil of balm is useful for drying sores and wounds (Gordon. 1977). It is a wound plant in the Balkans – balm, the leaves of centaury and the dust of a live coal, pounded (Kemp). From now on, its uses become more and more esoteric. We are told that “… eius decoctio in aqua menstrua provocat et matrica mundificat et confortat et conceptum aduivat” (Circa Instans/ Rufinus, quoted in Thorndike), and Gerard, taking his lead from Dioscorides, maintained that the leaves “drunke in wine, or applied outwardly, are good against the stingings of venomous beasts, and the bitings of mad dogs …”. He was down-to-earth enough to prescribe a mouthwash of the decoction for toothache, but went on to claim that it is “likewise good for those that cannot take breath unlesse they hold their neckes upright”! Not only that, but it “comforts the heart, and driveth away all melancholy and sadnesse …” (it was still in use in the 20th century for nervous complaints and depression (Boland. 1979). We even hear that “essence of balm”, drunk daily, will preserve youth. Llewellen, prince of Glamorgan, who lived to 108, attributed his long life to it (M Baker. 1980). Indeed, there was a once popular “restorative cordial”, supposed to confer longevity, called Carmelite Water, apparently still made in France, under the name Eau de mélisse des Carmes, by macerating the fresh flowers and tops in fortified white wine, together with a variety of spices (Clair). There was also an Aqua Mellis, taken to be a decoction of balm, that was much used in 17th century England against baldness (Burton).

Cultivation details
Landscape Uses: Border, Container, Rock garden. A very easily grown plant, it succeeds in any well-drained soil in a sunny sheltered position[200]. It prefers a light rich moist soil[37, 52],a warm position[27, 37] and partial shade[4]. Once established, this is a drought tolerant species[190, 200], it is a useful plant to try in difficult dry places[187], usually succeeding in the dustiest of soils once it is established[190]. Lemon balm is often grown in the herb garden, and sometimes also commercially[46], there are some named varieties[183]. Plants can often self-sow so freely as to become a menace[187]. If the plants are cut back hard after flowering, they will produce a fresh flush of leaves[238]. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits[233]. A good bee plant[4, 8, 24]. A good companion plant, especially for brassicas[14]. Special Features:Attractive foliage, Edible, Fragrant foliage, Not North American native, Invasive, Naturalizing, Suitable for cut flowers, Suitable for dried flowers.
Propagation
Seed - sow spring or autumn in a cold frame. Germination can be slow[200]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant out into their permanent positions when the plants are at least 15cm tall[K]. If there is plenty of seed it can be sown in an outdoor seed bed in April. Plant out into their permanent positions the following spring. Division in spring or autumn[111]. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring. Cuttings in July/August.
Dynamic Accumulator: of Phosphorus(P)[DynamicAccumulators]

Synonyms

• Faucibarba officinalis.
• Mutelia officinalis.
• Thymus melissa.
• Melissa officinalis subsp. officinalis

References
[1] https://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Melissa%20officinalis, Accessed May 1, 2020
[2] Personal Observation and notes. http://www.phytoday.org
[3] , http://www.Theplantlist.org, Accessed on April 23, 2014.
[4] Vancouver Island Default Map taken from Google Maps, www.google.ca, Accessed May 13, 2014
[PFAF] http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Melissa+officinalis Accessed March 26, 2015

MELISSA

Perennial herb. Stem: erect, simple to branched. Leaf: petioled; blade oblong to ovate, crenate to serrate. Inflorescence: ± open, in axils of distal leaves, short-bracted. Flower: calyx 2-lipped, upper lip > lower, 3-lobed, lower 2-lobed; corolla 2-lipped, upper lip ± entire, hood-like, erect or reflexed, lower lip 3-lobed, tube > calyx, curved upward; stamens 4, fertile, pairs ± equal, included under upper lip; style lobes unequal. Fruit: ovoid, smooth.
3 species: Europe, western Asia. (Greek: bee) [Wagstaff et al. 1998 Plant Syst Evol 209:265–274]

Local Species;

1. Melissa officinalis - Lemon balm [E-flora]

References

• [Jepson] John M. Miller & Dieter H. Wilken 2012, Melissa, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=9460, accessed on Feb 19 2015