Lemon Balm - Melissa officinalis

Properties : Carminative, diaphoretic and febrifuge.

Culpeper quoted Seraphion, the author of a medicinal-botany book entitled The Book of Simple Medicaments, saying "It delights the mind, clears the pipes of the brain, promotes digestion, strengthens the faltering or weakened heart, expels all unpleasant imaginations from the brain, especially those that make people melancholic".

Lemon Balm's effect on the central nervous system has been shown in numerous studies to be calming, mood-enhancing, stimulating attention and memory, relaxing, anxiety-reducing and antispasmodic in doses above 600 mg. Very positive effects for sleep disorders and stress reactions have been demonstrated. Several authors recommend lemon balm because of its acetylcholinesterase inhibition, as well as its neuroprotective and antioxidative activity, for prevention and supportive therapy for dementia and M. Alzheimer.

In 2016, during the H9N2 avian influenza virus outbreak, lemon balm showed a clear cell protection, especially in the the case of prophylactic use before the virus infection, by inhibiting virus binding to cellular surface proteins and cell receptors, as well as a significant reduction in virus replication.

Further studies have shown Melissa to inhibit the replication of herpes simplex virus and influenza virus.