Melissa (Melissa L.) is a perennial seedling very similar to mint and belongs to the Lamiaceae family.

It grows in central and southern Europe, North America and smaller Asia.

It is among the oldest and most common medicinal plants and from its stem is obtained an essential oil with sedative properties, anti-spasmodic, carminative, antibacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, antioxidants, as well as neuroprotective effects (1).

Inside we find components very interesting for human health. The results of this study indicate that Melissa officinalis could be considered an effective agent in the prevention of various neurological diseases associated with oxidative stress : quercetin has the highest antioxidant activity followed by gallic acid and rutin. It also has hydroxycinnamic acid, m-cumaric acid, caffeic acid (2), alpha tocoferol, flavonoids (3).

This study positively assesses the protective effects of Melissa Officinalis extract and its main phenolic compound, rosemary acid, against UVB-induced damage in human keratinocytes (4).

Age-related macular degeneration is one of the most common causes of irreversible visual loss among older people in developed countries. Melissa Officinalis' extract protects the epithelial cells of the human retinal pigment against oxidative-induced apoptosis (5).

This study considers that extracts of Lavandula angustifolia and Melissa officinalis have shown additive effects and suggests that a preparation containing both extracts may be useful for insomnia (6).

Cosmetics

Skin conditioning agent - Miscellaneous.  This ingredient has the task of modifying the condition of the skin when it is damaged or dry by reducing its flakiness and restoring its elasticity.

Lemon balm studies

References______________________________________________________________________

(1) Kamdem JP, Adeniran A, Boligon AA, Klimaczewski CV, Elekofehinti OO, Hassan W, et al. Antioxidant activity, genotoxicity and cytotoxicity evaluation of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) ethanolic extract: its potential role in neuroprotection. Ind Crops Prod. 2013;51:26–34.

(2) Pereira RP, Fachinetto R, de Souza Prestes A, Puntel RL, da Silva GN, Heinzmann BM, et al. Antioxidant effects of different extracts from Melissa officinalis, Matricaria recutita and Cymbopogon citratus. Neurochem Res. 2009;34(5):973–983

(3) Koksal E, Bursal E, Dikici E, Tozoglu F, Gulcin I. Antioxidant activity of Melissa officinalis leaves. J Med Plant Res. 2011;5(2):217–22.

(4) Lemon balm extract (Melissa officinalis, L.) promotes melanogenesis and prevents UVB-induced oxidative stress and DNA damage in a skin cell model.
Pérez-Sánchez A, Barrajón-Catalán E, Herranz-López M, Castillo J, Micol V.
J Dermatol Sci. 2016 Nov;84(2):169-177. doi: 10.1016/j.jdermsci.2016.08.004. 

(5) Melissa Officinalis L. Extracts Protect Human Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells against Oxidative Stress-Induced Apoptosis.
Jeung IC, Jee D, Rho CR, Kang S.
Int J Med Sci. 2016 Feb 3;13(2):139-46. doi: 10.7150/ijms.13861.

(6) Hypnotic effect of Coriandrum sativum, Ziziphus jujuba, Lavandula angustifolia and Melissa officinalis extracts in mice.
Hajhashemi V, Safaei A.
Res Pharm Sci. 2015 Nov-Dec;10(6):477-84.