Carmelite water
Eau de mélisse des Carmes
- Known today as
- Lemon balm, with lemon peel, nutmeg, coriander, and angelica, distilled in spirit.
- Kind
- Compound
- Constituents
- ethanol, citral and rosmarinic acid, myristicin, and 1 more
Revised October 3, 2026: Checked against its sources, each read in full, in part, or in its abstract. Version 1, first published September 30, 2026.
Carmelite water: what was it used for?
A cordial for faintness, the nerves, and headache, taken a few drops at a time.
Carmelite water: what does modern science say?
Still sold in France, chiefly in pharmacies. Its German counterpart is 79 per cent alcohol, and how its herbs act, its leaflet says, has not been shown in studies.
Pharmacognosy & Toxicology
- Constituents
- ethanol ChEMBL60–80 per cent
- citral and rosmarinic acidfrom the lemon balm
- myristicinfrom the nutmeg
- angelica furanocoumarins
- Mechanism
- A spirit of lemon balm with lemon peel, nutmeg, coriander, and angelica, made by the Carmelites of Paris from 1611 and given in the Paris codex from 1732: it is chiefly alcohol, and lemon balm itself, as a 600 mg extract, made volunteers calmer under laboratory stress; a liqueur with a pharmacopoeial pedigree. The German Klosterfrau Melissengeist claims a recipe developed by the Paris Carmelites in 1611.
- Toxic dose
- Alcohol; a few drops, as Boyer gave it; its German counterpart limits the day’s dose to 25 ml.
- Standing
- Sold in Germany as Klosterfrau Melissengeist, a registered traditional medicine, and in France as eau de mélisse des Carmes.
- Kennedy, D. O., et al. (2004). “Attenuation of laboratory-induced stress in humans after acute administration of Melissa officinalis.” Psychosomatic Medicine 66. Abstract read · the text read
The abstract of each source, beneath its citation. For Club members. About the Club or sign in.
Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.
Carmelite water: what lore surrounds it?
Made and sold from 1611 by the Discalced Carmelites of the rue de Vaugirard in Paris, in an apothecary’s shop within their house; the Paris codex printed its formula from 1732, so it was not everywhere a secret remedy.
In Their Own Words
Mrs Grieve says a spirit of balm with lemon-peel, nutmeg and angelica root was once famous as Carmelite water, valued against nervous headache and neuralgic complaints.
“Formerly a spirit of Balm, combined with lemon-peel, nutmeg and angelica root, enjoyed a great reputation under the name of Carmelite water, being deemed highly useful against nervous headache and neuralgic affections.”
Mrs. M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal: Balm, Balm: History. The text of A Modern Herbal as published on botanical.com. The text, read in full
Mrs Grieve adds that Carmelite water, chiefly of balm, was drunk daily by the Emperor Charles V.
“Carmelite water, of which Balm was the chief ingredient, was drunk daily by the Emperor Charles V.”
Mrs. M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal: Balm, Balm: History. The text of A Modern Herbal as published on botanical.com. The text, read in full
Each passage is quoted from the text named, which the press fetched and read, and was checked word for word against a fresh copy of it; the link opens that copy. Passages are given as printed, without the editors’ footnote numbers, and with words broken across lines joined.
Sources
- Grieve, M. (1931). A Modern Herbal, “Balm.” Read in part · the text read
- Wikipédia, “Eau de mélisse des Carmes Boyer,” fr.wikipedia.org (read 2 October 2026). Read in full · the text read
- Wikipedia (de), “Klosterfrau Melissengeist,” de.wikipedia.org (read 2 October 2026). Read in full · the text read
- EMA/HMPC (2013). Assessment report on Melissa officinalis L., folium. Read in part · the text read
- Wikipedia, “Nutmeg,” en.wikipedia.org (read 2 October 2026). Read in full · the text read
- Wikipedia, “Angelica archangelica,” en.wikipedia.org (read 2 October 2026). Read in full · the text read
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026, and October 3, 2026
- Passes
- Every sentence read against its sources, in the pass over the remaining 343 entries
- The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Every source read, in full, in part, or in its abstract, and every sentence checked against what was read (October 3, 2026)
- Sources
- 7 cited: 4 read in full, 2 read in part, 1 abstract read. 1 with the abstract on file.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published September 30, 2026 · last revised October 3, 2026
- Chicago
“Carmelite water.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified October 3, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/carmelite-water.
- MLA
“Carmelite water.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 3 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/carmelite-water. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
Carmelite water. (2026, October 3). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/carmelite-water
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See Also
Sharing ethanol, myristicin
Friar’s balsam · Spirit of wine · Honeyed wine and honeyed water · Malmsey · Myristica fragrans · Petroselinum crispum
Drawing on the same sources: Grieve, Wikipedia, Kennedy
Castor-oil plant, seeds of · Cardamom · Catmint · Chanterelle · Caesar’s mushroom · Civet · Balm · the bibliography →
Nearby in the alphabet
Cassia wood (Cinnamomum aromaticum (long known as Cinnamomum cassia)) · Cassia, flower of (the Indian laburnum) · Caraway broth (Carum carvi) · The Caravaca cross · Castoreum (The scent gland secretion of the beaver) · Caper spurge (Euphorbia lathyris)
Historical description, not medical advice.