A cancer diagnosis sends most of us into a whirl of anxiety and I was no exception. Many people also get depressed over their future. For me, it happened when I was put onto steroids; it’s a known side effect. I couldn’t understand why I felt so miserable when I’d successfully completed my treatment. So, most of us could do with some mood support at this time.

What is lemon balm?

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) looks just like mint and it is in the same family. But instead of mint, its leaves have the most wonderful lemony scent when they’re crushed between your fingers.

It’s one of the most popular culinary and medicinal plants used in the Mediterranean, and central and southern Europe and its first recorded use was over 2000 years ago. It’s best known for its effects on the nervous system. It helps reduce anxiety and stress, and it’s slightly sedative, so it also helps with sleep disturbances.

Does lemon balm work for anxiety and depression?

A review in 2021 looked at 10 different randomised controlled trials of the effects of lemon balm on people with both anxiety and depression. All of the trials showed that it was very successful in reducing anxiety and in reducing mild to moderate depression, with minimal side effects (1).

One of the studies in the review used people with chronic stable angina, who often experience high levels of stress, anxiety, depression and sleep problems. They were given 3 g of lemon balm for 6 weeks and they experienced significant reductions in all those issues (2).

Another of the studies in the review compared the effects of lemon balm, lavender and fluoxetine on patients with mild to moderate depression. They found that the lemon balm and the lavender were both as effective as fluoxetine, which is an anti-depressant with significant side effects. Neither the lemon balm nor the lavender had any serious side effects (3).

Over half of patients who have undergone coronary bypass surgery suffer anxiety and sleep disturbances after their surgery. One random, controlled trial (RCT) took 80 people in this group and gave half 500 mg of lemon balm 3 times a day for 7 days from the date of surgery. The group taking lemon balm had a reduction in anxiety levels of 49% and improved their sleep quality by 54% compared with the placebo group (4).

Anti-cancer effects of lemon balm

Laboratory tests show that lemon balm effectively kills cancer cells from colon cancer, breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, liver cancer and cervical cancer (5). These don’t always translate to human trials, of course, but they do suggest that it might be helpful.

Lemon balm also has anti-inflammatory properties, particularly its essential oil used on the skin, and it relieves pain too (5).

Cancer patients tend to have lower immune systems and lemon balm can help there too. Its essential oil is antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal (5).

It’s also a powerful antioxidant, due to its rosmarinic acid content (5), and this can help to mop up all the free radicals that are produced during treatment.

If you’re getting nauseous or vomiting because of treatment, lemon balm is a lovely gentle way to ease those problems (6).

Other benefits of lemon balm

Lemon balm has been used in traditional medicine for many years for a number of different purposes, including:

• For digestive problems, such as indigestion, colic, stomach cramps and flatulence

• For respiratory issues, such as bronchitis, cough and influenza

• For skin irritations, eczema, insect bites and wound healing

• For Graves disease, which is an overactive thyroid, as it blocks the receptors for thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), slowing down the production of thyroid hormones

• For tension headaches, migraine, neuralgia and toothache

• For heart conditions, high blood pressure and nervous palpitations.

  (6)

Lemon balm dose

There’s no standard dose for taking lemon balm, but one study found that 700 mg a day for 12 weeks didn’t cause any problems (7). That was in capsule form.

A popular way to use lemon balm is in tea. Unlike a lot of herbal medicines, it tastes really good! You can buy tea bags fairly easily, and one cup several times a day is commonly used (6). If you’re using loose tea, 1.5 – 4.5 g a day has been used safely (6). If you use fresh leaves, 8-10 g a day is safe to use to make tea or to use in cooking (6).

Topically, you can safely use a cream containing 1% of a standardised 70:1 extract up to 4 times daily for 5-10 days (6).

Interactions, contraindications and side effects of lemon balm

It’s unwise to take lemon balm if you’re drinking alcohol or taking sedatives, as it’s likely to increase the sedative effects (6).

In animals, it increases the effects of barbiturates (6).

Glaucoma patients have reported increased eye pressures after taking lemon balm (6), so ask your health professional to monitor your eye pressures if you’re taking lemon balm.

Lemon balm could theoretically reduce the effects of thyroid replacement medication (6). If you’re taking thyroid replacement medication, ask your health professional to monitor your hormone levels.

In vitro studies suggest that lemon balm could interact with SSRIs, drugs used for depression (6), so you shouldn’t use lemon balm with them.

At high doses (900 mg a day or more), lemon balm could make it dangerous for you to drive or operate machinery (6).

There isn’t enough information on its use during pregnancy or breastfeeding, so I suggest you avoid it.

It has very few side effects, apart from rare cases of allergic reactions and wheezing. It might increase your appetite (8). But for most people it’s a very safe herb and can even be used for children (with modified doses).

Conclusion

Lemon balm is easy to grow. It’s a perennial and, with its Mediterranean background, tolerates dry conditions well. Even my brown thumbs have had no difficulty keeping several plants alive. If you try it and enjoy it, I can recommend buying a few (organic) plants for your garden or pots. I bought mine (in Australia) from here. They have some great ideas on how to use it in cooking as well as growing the plants.

Of course, this isn’t the only herb that is useful for anxiety and depression. I cover quite a few more of them in my book. You can find out more about the book here and you can buy it by clicking on the button below.

References

1. Ghazizadeh J, Sadigh‐Eteghad S, Marx W, et al. The effects of lemon balm (Melissa Officinalis L.) on depression and anxiety in clinical trials: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Phytotherapy Research. 2021;35(12):6690-6705. doi:10.1002/ptr.7252

2. Haybar H, Javid AZ, Haghighizadeh MH, Valizadeh E, Mohaghegh SM, Mohammadzadeh A. The effects of Melissa officinalis supplementation on depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep disorder in patients with chronic stable angina. Clinical Nutrition ESPEN. 2018;26:47-52. doi:10.1016/j.clnesp.2018.04.015

3. Araj-Khodaei M, Noorbala AA, Yarani R, et al. A double-blind, randomized pilot study for comparison of Melissa officinalis L. and Lavandula angustifolia mill. with fluoxetine for the treatment of depression. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies. 2020;20(1):207. doi:10.1186/s12906-020-03003-5

4. Soltanpour A, Alijaniha F, Naseri M, Kazemnejad A, Heidari MR. Effects of Melissa officinalis on anxiety and sleep quality in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery: A double-blind randomized placebo controlled trial. European Journal of Integrative Medicine. 2019;28:27-32. doi:10.1016/j.eujim.2019.01.010

5. Zam W, Quispe C, Sharifi-Rad J, et al. An updated review on the properties of Melissa officinalis L.: Not exclusively anti-anxiety. Frontiers in Bioscience-Scholar. 2022;14(2):16. doi:10.31083/j.fbs1402016

6. Brendler T, Gruenwald J, Kligler B, et al. Catherine Ulbricht, PharmD, MBA(C), column editor, Lemon Balm (Melissa Officinalis L.). Journal of Herbal Pharmacotherapy. 2005;5(4):71-114. doi:10.1080/j157v05n04_08

7. Asadi A, Shidfar F, Safari M, et al. Efficacy of melissa officinalis L . (lemon balm) extract on glycemic control and cardiovascular risk factors in individuals with type 2 diabetes: randomized, double‐blind, clinical trial. Phytotherapy Research. 2018;33(3):651-659. doi:10.1002/ptr.6254

8. Natural Medicines Database. Lemon balm: Professional monograph. Natural medicines. https://naturalmedicines.therapeuticresearch.com/databases/food,-herbs-supplements/professional.aspx?productid=437#adverseEvents. Published January 27, 2023. Accessed February 28, 2023.