# Balm (Melissa officinalis)

**Melissa**

**Known today as.** Lemon balm, *Melissa officinalis*.

Kind: Plant  
Qualities: Hot and dry in the second degree (Galenic tradition).

## What did Canale use it for?

Its distilled water in the melancholic preparative (ch. 3).

## What does modern science say?

Lemon balm has mild calming effects supported by small modern trials. It was an early modern remedy for low spirits.

## Pharmacognosy and toxicology

- **citral**: geranial and neral, the lemon scent
- **rosmarinic acid**: up to 6 per cent of the leaf
- **citronellal**: 

**Mechanism.** Rosmarinic acid inhibits GABA transaminase, which raises GABA in the brain and accounts for the measured calming; the extract also binds muscarinic and nicotinic receptors, and lemon balm cream shortens cold sores by its tannin-polyphenol action on the herpes virus.

**Dose.** Safe at tea and extract doses; 600 mg of extract calmed laboratory-induced stress in a placebo-controlled trial (Kennedy, 2004).

**Standing.** EMA monograph (2013) for mild stress and sleep; a 2021 meta-analysis of trials found reductions in anxiety and depression scores, with the usual caveats about trial quality.

## What lore surrounds it?

*Melissa* is the Greek for honeybee: the plant was grown for the hives.

## What did the older authorities say?

**Paris, 1611.** The Carmelites of the rue de Vaugirard began distilling their *eau de mélisse*, Carmelite water, sold for centuries against faintness and melancholy.

## Sources

- Grieve, M. *A Modern Herbal*, “Balm.” As published on botanical.com.
- EMA/HMPC (2013). *Community herbal monograph on Melissa officinalis L., folium* (EMA/HMPC/196745/2012).
- Kennedy, D. O., et al. (2004). “Attenuation of laboratory-induced stress in humans after acute administration of *Melissa officinalis*.” *Psychosomatic Medicine* 66.
- Ghazizadeh, J., et al. (2021). “The effects of lemon balm on depression and anxiety in clinical trials: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” *Phytotherapy Research* 35.

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*Balm.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-09-25. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/balm

Historical description, not medical advice.