Lemon Balm

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is a medicinal herb native to Europe and a member of the mint family. (23) Rich in health-promoting compounds known as flavonoids and polyphenols, lemon balm provides various therapeutic properties including hypolipidemic (cholesterol-lowering), cardioprotective (beneficial for heart health), (4) antiviral (effective against viral infections), antibacterial (effective against bacterial infections), antispasmodic (relieves involuntary muscle contractions), (23) antioxidant (helps protect against cell damage), and sedative (sleep-promoting) effects. (25) As a result of its many therapeutic properties, lemon balm may provide health benefits to numerous body systems, ranging from our nervous system to endocrine (hormone) system.

Health benefits of lemon balm

Lemon balm has been found to have various benefits to cognitive (brain), cardiovascular (heart and blood vessels), metabolic (blood sugar), skin, and hormonal health.

1. Cognitive benefits

Lemon balm has demonstrated benefit in anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, stress, and cognitive function in healthy individuals and those with dementia.

Mood

Studies have found that lemon balm supplementation may help improve depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances. (5) Lemon balm may be beneficial in both acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) manifestations of depression and anxiety, but particularly in the acute setting. (1) Lemon balm combined with lavender has also demonstrated effects similar to the pharmaceutical antidepressant fluoxetine in mild-to-moderate depression. (8)

Stress

Lemon balm supplementation has also been shown to be beneficial for reducing stress. (5)(18)(25)(28) Numerous studies have investigated this through stress-inducing cognitive and multitasking tests. (5)(18)(25)(28) Participants supplemented with lemon balm reported increased calmness, (25) reduced anxiety, (28) and an overall amelioration of negative mood effects. (18) Lemon balm’s calming properties may have to do with its effect on GABA, a chemical messenger or neurotransmitter in the brain that has an inhibitory effect on brain activity. Studies demonstrated that lemon balm may increase GABA by decreasing the level of the enzyme that breaks it down. (2)(3) Cognitive performance was also enhanced, as studies reported improved memory and alertness (28) and increased speed of mathematical processing, with no reduction in accuracy. (18) Reduced alertness may be experienced with high doses, but evidence is mixed. (18)(25)

Cognition

Lemon balm may also have cognitive benefits, potentially due to its effects on another neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, which is involved in memory, recall, and cognition. (27) Lemon balm increases levels of acetylcholine by inhibiting the enzyme that breaks it down. (27) There is some evidence that suggests that lemon balm may have positive effects on Alzheimer’s disease. (6)(13)(24) One study demonstrated that it may prevent the worsening of Alzeihermer’s disease. (6) Participants with mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease who supplemented with lemon balm for six months experienced a significant improvement in cognitive assessment scores measured with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire. (6) This questionnaire assesses various symptoms including ​delusions, hallucinations, aggression, depression, anxiety, euphoria, apathy, impulsivity, irritability, motor disturbance, nighttime behaviors, and changes in appetite. (29) However, no significant differences were found when other cognitive assessments were used, including the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog), the Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD), and the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale. (6) Another study reported significant improvements in cognitive performance after four months of lemon balm supplementation in those with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease. The study noted improvements in ADAS-cog scores, which assessed aspects of attention, language, memory, orientation, praxis, and reasoning. Improvements were also documented on the CDR scale, which assesses memory, orientation, judgment, problem solving, community affairs, home and hobbies, and personal care. (24) Lemon balm may not only improve cognitive function in patients with dementia, but also in healthy individuals. In participants undergoing cognitive tests, lemon balm improved accuracy of attention, (25) memory, (26) and verbal recall. (9)

2. Cardiometabolic benefits

Lemon balm supplementation has also demonstrated significant improvement in cardiometabolic parameters such as blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol. These effects have been demonstrated in patients with various conditions including high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, chronic stable angina (a heart condition that causes chest pain when the heart does not receive an adequate supply of oxygen), and arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat.

Blood pressure

Lemon balm has been found to reduce systolic (top number) blood pressure by 11.8 to 23 mmHg (4)(7)(12)(15) and diastolic (bottom number) blood pressure by 4.9 to 15 mmHg. (12)(15)

Cholesterol

Lemon balm further benefits cardiovascular health through its cholesterol-lowering effects. Improvements in cholesterol have also been documented with reductions of 16 to 22 mg/dL in total cholesterol (4)(10)(14), 25 to 41 mg/dL in triglycerides, (7)(10)(14)(15) and an average decrease of 15.3 mg/dL in low-density lipoprotein (LDL), (4)(10) which is often referred to as bad cholesterol. Lemon balm also seems to increase our “good cholesterol,” with a reported average increase of 6.7 mg/dL in high-density lipoprotein (HDL). (10)

Blood sugar

With respect to blood sugar, those who supplemented with lemon balm had an average decrease of 8.99 mg/dL in fasting blood sugar (7)(14) and an average decrease of 0.28 in HbA1C. (7)

Inflammation

Lemon balm also appears to have anti-inflammatory effects, as it has been shown to reduce an inflammatory marker in the blood known as C-reactive protein (CRP) by 2.1 Ug/mL. (7)(10) Reducing inflammation is important because inflammation is associated with a greater risk of developing heart disease. (31)

Arrhythmia

Lemon balm has even been found to improve cardiovascular health in those with arrhythmia known as premature ventricular contractions (PVCs). One study demonstrated a reduction in the frequency of PVCs with lemon balm supplementation. (14)

3. Skin benefits

It turns out that there are several lemon balm benefits for skin conditions.

Cold sores

Lemon balm’s antiviral activity has been shown to be beneficial for recurrent cold sores caused by the herpes simplex virus. (16)(17) It was found that treatment initiation in the very early stages of the infection is most effective. (17) Topical lemon balm application appears to reduce the size of the affected area, speed healing, and reduce symptoms such as itching, tingling, burning, stabbing, swelling, tautness, and redness. Lemon balm also seems to reduce the risk of reinfection by prolonging the time between infections. (16)

Psoriasis

Lemon balm may also help improve skin lesions in psoriasis. One study demonstrated that lemon balm syrup combined with damask rose and fennel improved psoriasis plaques in participants with mild-to-moderate psoriasis. Participants reported significant improvement in the intensity of itchiness and on the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), which takes into account discoloration, thickness, scaling, and the percentage of affected area. (19)

4. Hormonal benefits

Lemon balm may play a beneficial role in female hormones as it has been shown to help in premenstrual syndrome.

Premenstrual syndrome

Lemon balm has demonstrated a significant reduction in premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms among high school school girls who supplemented daily for the entire duration of their menstrual cycle for three consecutive cycles. (20) PMS symptoms were measured using the Premenstrual Syndrome Screening Tool (PSST), which assesses psychological, behavioral, and physical symptoms of PMS and how much these interfered with their daily activities, work, and relationships. These included anger, anxiety, tearfulness, depressed mood, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, overeating, insomnia, hypersomnia, feelings of overwhelm, and physical symptoms such as breast tenderness, headaches, joint/muscle pain, bloating, and weight gain. (30) The improvement with lemon balm even continued three months after supplementation was discontinued. (20)

Safety

While lemon balm is generally well tolerated, there are some lemon balm side effects, which make this herb not suitable for everyone. Lemon balm should be avoided in those with thyroid conditions because it has the potential to reduce thyroid hormone production by inhibiting thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). (21)(22) Lemon balm should also be avoided in those taking thyroid medication due to its ability to interfere with this medication. (21)

The bottom line

Given that lemon balm has a vast array of actions, it has been found beneficial in various conditions including mood issues, metabolic disorders, dementia, and PMS. If you are a patient thinking of adding this to your medicine cabinet, please consult your healthcare practitioner to determine what lemon balm dosage is appropriate for you.