(Melissa officinalis)
Family: Lamiacaea
Parts Used: Fresh or dried aerial parts – harvest before flowering
Qualities: Cooling, drying
Taste: sour, sweet, slightly bitter
Actions:
Carminative
Anxiolytic (may significantly inhibit MAO-A, an enzyme responsible for degradation of a range of neurotransmitters, including serotonin and dopamine
Spasmolytic / anti-spasmodic
Mild sedative
Antidepressant (Hoffman)
Diaphoretic
Hypotensive (Hoffman)
Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) antagonist (although there is some thought that Lemon Balm is more of a thyroid adaptogen and will only reduce TSH if required)
Antiviral (topically)
Indications:
Sleep disturbances
Nervous sleeping disorders
Mild anxiety disorders
Infantile colic
Indigestion, flatulence, colic
Tenseness and irritability
Depression, nervous breakdown
Stress and tension
Overactive thyroid
Fevers
Common cold, influenza
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
Teenage health – e.g. nervousness, low mood, poor cognition and sleeping difficulties
Topical treatment for herpes simplex virus – applied in a concentrated aqueous extract or as an essential oil in a cream for herpes simplex type 1 (reduces healing time by half)
Contraindications: Theoretically, taking large amounts of lemon balm can have effects on people with hypothyroidism and taking Synthroid or other thyroid stimulating medications.