Basal and Spasmolytic Effects of a Hydroethanolic Leaf Extract of Melissa officinalis L. on Intestinal Motility: An Ex Vivo Study.
Aubert P, Guinobert I, Blondeau C, Bardot V, Ripoche I, Chalard P, Neunlist M.
J Med Food. 2019 Jul;22(7):653-662. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2018.0154.

The effects of a Melissa officinalis L. based product on metabolic parameters in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A randomized double-blinded controlled clinical trial.
Nayebi N, Esteghamati A, Meysamie A, Khalili N, Kamalinejad M, Emtiazy M, Hashempur MH.
J Complement Integr Med. 2019 Jan 25. pii: /j/jcim.ahead-of-print/jcim-2018-0088/jcim-2018-0088.xml. doi: 10.1515/jcim-2018-0088.

A randomised controlled trial of Lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia) and Lemon Balm (Melissa Officinalis) essential oils for the treatment of agitated behaviour in older people with and without dementia.
Watson K, Hatcher D, Good A.
Complement Ther Med. 2019 Feb;42:366-373. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2018.12.016.

Efficacy of Melissa officinalis L. (lemon balm) extract on glycemic control and cardiovascular risk factors in individuals with type 2 diabetes: A randomized, double-blind, clinical trial.
Asadi A, Shidfar F, Safari M, Hosseini AF, Fallah Huseini H, Heidari I, Rajab A.
Phytother Res. 2019 Mar;33(3):651-659. doi: 10.1002/ptr.6254.

Safety and efficacy of Melissa officinalis (lemon balm) on ApoA-I, Apo B, lipid ratio and ICAM-1 in type 2 diabetes patients: A randomized, double-blinded clinical trial.
Asadi A, Shidfar F, Safari M, Malek M, Hosseini AF, Rezazadeh S, Rajab A, Shidfar S, Hosseini S.
Complement Ther Med. 2018 Oct;40:83-88. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2018.07.015.

A Comparative Study of Melissa officinalis Leaves and Stems Ethanolic Extracts in terms of Antioxidant, Cytotoxic, and Antiproliferative Potential.
Moacă EA, Farcaş C, Ghiţu A, Coricovac D, Popovici R, Cărăba-Meiţă NL, Ardelean F, Antal DS, Dehelean C, Avram Ş.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2018 May 16;2018:7860456. doi: 10.1155/2018/7860456.

Effect of Melissa officinalis (Lemon balm) on Sexual Dysfunction in Women: A Double- blind, Randomized, Placebo-controlled Study.
Darvish-Mofrad-Kashani Z, Emaratkar E, Hashem-Dabaghian F, Emadi F, Raisi F, Aliasl J, Kamalinejad M, Hasheminejad SA, Eftekhar T, Zafarghandi N.
Iran J Pharm Res. 2018 Winter;17(Suppl):89-100

Beneficial Effects of Lemon Balm Leaf Extract on In Vitro Glycation of Proteins, Arterial Stiffness, and Skin Elasticity in Healthy Adults.
Yui S, Fujiwara S, Harada K, Motoike-Hamura M, Sakai M, Matsubara S, Miyazaki K.
J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2017;63(1):59-68. doi: 10.3177/jnsv.63.59.

Quantitative Analysis of Phenolic Acids and Antiplatelet Activity of Melissa officinalis Leaf Extracts.
Maleš Ž, Antolić A, Babić I, Jurić S, Bojić M.
Nat Prod Commun. 2017 Jan;12(1):93-94.

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.