# Carmelite water

**Eau de mélisse des Carmes**

**Known today as.** Lemon [balm](https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/balm), with lemon peel, nutmeg, coriander, and angelica, distilled in spirit.

Kind: Compound

## What was it used for?

A cordial for faintness, the nerves, and headache, taken a few drops at a time.

## 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 and toxicology

- **ethanol**: 60–80 per cent
- **citral and rosmarinic acid**: from the lemon balm
- **myristicin**: from 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.

**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.

## 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.

## Sources

- Grieve, M. (1931). *A Modern Herbal*, “Balm.”
- Wikipédia, “Eau de mélisse des Carmes Boyer,” fr.wikipedia.org (read 2 October 2026).
- Wikipedia (de), “Klosterfrau Melissengeist,” de.wikipedia.org (read 2 October 2026).
- EMA/HMPC (2013). *Assessment report on Melissa officinalis L., folium*.
- Wikipedia, “Nutmeg,” en.wikipedia.org (read 2 October 2026).
- Wikipedia, “Angelica archangelica,” en.wikipedia.org (read 2 October 2026).
- Kennedy, D. O., et al. (2004). “Attenuation of laboratory-induced stress in humans after acute administration of *Melissa officinalis*.” *Psychosomatic Medicine* 66.

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*Carmelite water.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-10-03. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/carmelite-water

Historical description, not medical advice.