Lemon balm: properties, use, contraindications

Lemon balm is an antioxidant and antispasmodic plant, useful against stress and insomnia. What are the properties? Does melissa also have side effects?

Lemon balm ( Melissa officinalis ) is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Labiateae family. Thanks to its antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory properties, and to the essential oils it contains, it is used in the treatment of many disorders. Let's find out better.

Properties and surface of lemon balm

Lemon balm leaves, rich in essential oil , which gives the plant a pleasant aroma and lemon flavor, are used in states of anxiety with somatizations on the gastrointestinal system. For its antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory and carminative action it is indicated in case of menstrual pain, neuralgia, digestive disorders, nausea, abdominal cramp flatulence and colitis.

This plant is also used in the treatment of headaches, when it is caused by nervous tension, thanks to the presence of essential oil (0.5%) which acts as a sedative on the nervous system, and relaxing on the muscular system. Its use is particularly indicated, therefore, in the presence of a general irritability picture, insomnia caused by excessive tiredness, nervousness, premenstrual syndrome, and tachycardia on a functional basis.

The extract of fresh lemon balm leaves has antiviral activity, due to the presence of polyphenolic acids and polysaccharides, against Herpes simplex.

Method of use

INFUSED : 1 tablespoon lemon balm leaves, 1 cup of water

Pour the leaves into the boiling water and turn off the heat. Cover and leave to infuse for 10 min.

Filter the infusion and drink it when needed in case of abdominal cramps, spastic colitis, nervousness and neuralgia. After meals to digest. Before going to sleep to take advantage of the relaxing and mildly sedative action.

- Mother tincture of lemon balm : 20 drops in a little water three times a day after meals. How relaxing 30-40 drops in the evening before bedtime

Like melissa, there are other useful herbs for sleep: find out what they are

Contraindications of lemon balm

Lemon balm has some side effects and contraindications. When taken in large quantities, it is possible for a result to be the opposite of the desired result. So instead of being soothing, lemon balm could bring anxiety and agitation.

Furthermore, lemon balm is contraindicated in patients with thyroid disorders, such as hypothyroidism.

Description of the plant

Perennial herbaceous plant with bushy habit, with horizontal rhizome and stem (80 cm) branched at the base, quadrangular and hairy.

The leaves are petiolate, oval hairy, with toothed margin and furrowed by numerous veins. The flowers, initially yellowish-white in color, then take on a slight pale pink hue; they have the shape of a bell-shaped calyx.

The corolla, also tubular, has the lower lip divided into three lobes with the central one larger than the two lateral ones.

The melissa habitat

It grows spontaneously in southern Europe and western Asia. In Italy it can be found along hedges and in shady areas; it is also cultivated in gardens.

Background

The name melissa seems to derive from the Greek whose root meli means honey . This probably derives from the fact that the scent of the plant attracts bees, which gladly suck their nectar.

It was first introduced into medicine as a morally exhilarating remedy and nerve comforter. Galen and Paracelso advised her in mania and mental disorders. Serapio wrote that it alleviates the anxieties and sadness of the brain and mainly those produced by melancholy.

The Arabs held it in great consideration: the doctor Avicenna already in the XI century attributed to the species "the marvelous property of cheering and comforting the heart".

The Melolate Alcolato, or "Acqua di Melissa" invented by the French Discalced Carmelites in 1611, was due to its antispasmodic properties a folk remedy to which all social classes used in critical moments of their life (from toothache, to syncope, nervous breakdown etc.).