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Western herbalism

Lemon balmMelissa officinalis

A lemon-scented mint-family leaf used for tension and gas. We found no trial of lemon balm alone on the gut; infant colic and dyspepsia trials used multi-herb products.

Botanical name
Melissa officinalis
Part used
leaf
Also called
Balm, Melissa, Sweet balm, Bee balm (in older texts)
Used in
Western herbalism
Taken for
Bloating, Gas, Cramping and pain, Stress and the gut, Indigestion
Sold as
tea, capsules, tincture, liquid extract, essential oil

Lemon balm, the plant and the part used

Lemon balm is a perennial of the mint family (Lamiaceae) with lemon-scented leaves, native to Europe and the Mediterranean region and widely grown in gardens. The part used is the leaf, fresh or dried.

It is prepared as a tea (an infusion of the dried leaf), as a tincture or liquid extract, as a dry extract in capsules, and as a volatile oil used in aromatherapy and topical products. The oil is a separate product from the leaf tea and is not the preparation covered by the European monograph. Lemon balm also appears in combination products: a six-herb liquid for functional dyspepsia (bitter candytuft, chamomile, peppermint, caraway, licorice and lemon balm), and a chamomile, fennel and lemon balm extract sold for infant colic.

Because most of the published digestive work is on those combinations, the evidence below separates trials of the combination products from the herb on its own. A 2022 review describes lemon balm as used since ancient times for gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neurological and psychological conditions, and lists anxiety, sleeping difficulties and infantile colic among the conditions tested in clinical settings.

Traditional uses, in their own terms

Western herbalism

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) monograph for Melissa leaf accepts lemon balm as a traditional herbal medicinal product for two indications: relief of mild symptoms of mental stress and to aid sleep, and symptomatic treatment of mild gastrointestinal complaints including bloating and flatulence. EMA states that the use is based exclusively on long-standing use, and its public summary describes the effectiveness as plausible while clinical evidence is limited. The monograph is for a leaf tea or equivalent preparation taken by mouth; it is a statement about European traditional practice, not a finding from trials.

Compounds, and what the laboratory says about them

The leaf contains rosmarinic acid (about 1.5 percent of dry leaf mass in one analysis), the triterpenoids ursolic and oleanolic acid, flavonoids, and a volatile oil that gives the lemon scent. In a laboratory assay a methanol extract inhibited rat brain GABA transaminase, an enzyme that breaks down the calming neurotransmitter GABA; rosmarinic acid accounted for 40 percent inhibition at 100 micrograms per milliliter. This is a cell-free lab result, offered as a possible mechanism for the calming use, not evidence of an effect in the gut. EMA also notes that in vitro and animal data indicate a water extract of the leaf may inhibit the activity of thyroid-stimulating hormone; the clinical relevance is not known.

Trials in people, with the numbers

We could find no randomized trial of lemon balm used alone for a digestive outcome. The human gut data are trials of products that contain it.

In functional dyspepsia, a double-blind trial of 120 patients tested STW 5-II, a six-herb liquid containing bitter candytuft, chamomile, peppermint, caraway, licorice and lemon balm. Symptom scores fell more with the product than placebo in the first 4 weeks (P < 0.001), and after 8 weeks 43.3 percent on active treatment and 3.3 percent on placebo reported complete symptom relief. A separate meta-analysis of the related preparation STW 5 (Iberogast) pooled three placebo-controlled studies (138 on active treatment, 135 on placebo) and found a better score for the most bothersome symptom (odds ratio 0.22, P = 0.001). Neither trial can isolate lemon balm from the other herbs.

In infant colic, a 2005 trial of 93 breastfed infants (88 finished) compared a chamomile, fennel and lemon balm extract with placebo twice daily for a week: average crying fell from 201.2 to 76.9 minutes a day versus 198.7 to 169.9 on placebo (P < 0.005). A later open randomized trial of 176 infants compared a chamomile, lemon balm and tyndallized Lactobacillus acidophilus product with simethicone for 28 days: 95 percent responded versus 68.4 percent on simethicone. The second was open-label, so participants knew what they were given.

Trials of lemon balm on anxiety and sleep sit outside the gut and are not reviewed here.

StudyDoseWhat it found
Double-blind trial, 120 patients with functional dyspepsia (six-herb product including lemon balm) PMID 14755152STW 5-II liquid, 4-week blocks, 8 weeks assessedComplete symptom relief 43.3% vs 3.3% on placebo at 8 weeks (P < 0.001)
Meta-analysis of three placebo-controlled trials of STW 5 (multi-herb), 138 active vs 135 placebo PMID 15606389STW 5 (Iberogast) liquidBetter score for the most bothersome symptom (odds ratio 0.22, P = 0.001)
Double-blind placebo-controlled trial, 93 breastfed infants with colic (chamomile, fennel, lemon balm) PMID 16041731Standardized extract, twice daily for 1 weekCrying 201.2 to 76.9 min/day vs 198.7 to 169.9 on placebo (P < 0.005)
Open randomized trial, 176 infants with colic (chamomile, lemon balm and L. acidophilus HA122) PMID 28665038Product vs L. reuteri vs simethicone, 28 daysResponse 95% vs 68.4% on simethicone (P < 0.001)

The doses on record

The EMA monograph lists, for adults and adolescents over 12, a herbal tea of 1.5 to 4.5 g of the comminuted leaf in 150 ml of boiling water, 1 to 3 times daily; powdered leaf 0.19 to 0.55 g, 2 to 3 times daily; liquid extract 2 to 4 ml, 1 to 3 times daily; or a tincture of 2 to 6 ml, 1 to 3 times daily. Use in under-12s is not advised, and symptoms lasting longer than 2 weeks should go to a doctor or practitioner. The trial products had their own doses: STW 5-II was given over three 4-week blocks, the colic extract twice a day for a week. Those doses do not transfer to the tea.

None of this is a dose recommendation. It is what the literature used, set down so a label can be compared with it; a pharmacist or clinician decides what applies to you.

The safety record

EMA lists no known undesirable effects for the leaf. It notes that the leaf may impair the ability to drive and use machines, and that affected patients should not drive or operate machinery. Genotoxicity, reproductive toxicity and carcinogenicity tests have not been performed. Safety in pregnancy and breastfeeding has not been established, and EMA does not advise use during either.

The thyroid finding is a caution rather than a case report: in vitro and animal data suggest the water extract may inhibit thyroid-stimulating hormone, with unknown clinical relevance. A review of lemon balm trials describes reported adverse events as very rare. The infant colic trials of combination products reported no side effects in the 2005 trial.

Medicines it can interact with

EMA lists the interaction section as “no data available.” The leaf extract inhibited GABA transaminase in a laboratory assay, and EMA warns that the herb may impair the ability to drive and use machines, so additive drowsiness with other sedating substances is a reasonable question to ask a pharmacist, though no interaction study exists. EMA’s thyroid-stimulating hormone data are relevant in principle to people on thyroid medicines. Neither point has been tested in a clinical interaction study, and we found no reported medicine interactions for the leaf.

The interaction rules the quiz applies to lemon balm

These are the medicines the quiz pairs with a caution or an exclusion for this herb, taken from published interaction references:

Where lemon balm turns up in the catalog

Lemon balm appears on the labels below, alone or inside a blend; each product page gives the printed amount, the evidence for that product and the review picture.

Traditional Medicinals Organic Triple Mint Daily Probiotic Tea 4.8 out of 5 from 1,976 ratings from Amazon · $0.44 per cup on iHerb, $0.37 on Amazon; the brand directs up to three cups a day Traditional Medicinals Organic Gas Relief Tea 4.5 out of 5 from 1,766 ratings from Amazon · $0.44 per cup on Amazon and iHerb; the brand directs one to four cups a day Feel Goods Digestion+ (Gut Guardian) 4.7 out of 5 from 1,646 ratings from feelgoods.co · $1.67 per day at one serving; the brand suggests two to three after the first days Jupi Debloat & Hydration Powder 4.1 out of 5 from 1,568 ratings from Amazon · $1.40 a day Arrae Bloat Capsules 4.1 out of 5 from 853 ratings from Amazon · $1.50 a day Terra Health Essentials Acid Relief 4 out of 5 from 452 ratings from Amazon · $1.63 a day Iberogast Liquid Drops 4.1 out of 5 from 421 ratings from Walmart · $4.30 per 20 mL bottle Arrae Bloat Gummies 4.2 out of 5 from 104 ratings from Amazon · $1.33 a day

Match it to your own case

The quiz weighs your symptoms and medicines against every product researched here, lemon balm products included, and shows its working.

Take the quiz

Read next

Western Peppermint Mentha x piperita Western Chamomile Matricaria chamomilla (syn. Matricaria recutita) Ayurvedic / TCM / Western Fennel Foeniculum vulgare Western Spearmint Mentha spicata Western Bitter candytuft Iberis amara

Questions people ask

Has lemon balm alone been tested for digestion?

We could find no randomized trial of lemon balm alone on a gut outcome. The dyspepsia and infant colic trials all used multi-herb products. Those results cannot be assigned to lemon balm specifically.

What does the European monograph say it is for?

EMA accepts it as a traditional herbal medicine for mild stress symptoms and sleep, and for mild gastrointestinal complaints including bloating and flatulence. The monograph says the use rests only on long-standing use, with limited clinical evidence.

Is it used for infant colic?

Combination products containing lemon balm, chamomile and fennel were tested in infants in two trials. The EMA monograph for the leaf itself does not advise use in children under 12.

Does it affect the thyroid?

In vitro and animal data cited by EMA suggest a water extract may inhibit thyroid-stimulating hormone. The clinical relevance is not known, and no human thyroid study of the tea is cited.

Is lemon balm tea the same as lemon balm essential oil?

No. The monograph covers leaf tea, powder, liquid extract and tincture. The distilled oil is used in aromatherapy and topical products and was not part of the digestive trials we found.

Sources