YahGarden

Herb library · Herb · Melissa officinalis

Lemon balm

A flowering shrub whose leaves yield a lemon-scented extract, sold on its own and in many blended supplements. Its safety record is reassuring, but we have found no NIH review of whether it works for the calming uses it is sold for.

Traditional use

Lemon balm, also called balm, sweet balm, or Melissa, was used in traditional medicine for nervousness, anxiety, sleeplessness, and menstrual irregularities. It is often included in multi-ingredient products aimed at digestive symptoms, anxiety, and low mood.

Traditional energetics

What studies show

  • Limited

    Tolerability: in small trials, lemon balm extracts appeared well tolerated, with only minor nonspecific effects (headache, dizziness, bloating) that were often as common in people taking a placebo. The trials were small, and few reported laboratory results.

  • Insufficient

    Effectiveness: the NIH LiverTox chapter we cite is a safety record and does not assess whether lemon balm helps with nervousness, anxiety, or sleep. NCCIH has no page on lemon balm and MedlinePlus no longer carries its herb monographs, so we have no primary-source rating of its effectiveness to offer and regard that question as open.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • NoteSide effects seen in small trials were minor and nonspecific: headache, dizziness, bloating.
  • AllergyHow often lemon balm causes hypersensitivity (allergic) reactions is not known.
  • ConditionLemon balm extract itself has not been linked to liver injury. Some multi-ingredient supplements containing it have been implicated in liver injury, but a specific contribution from lemon balm could not be established.
  • PregnancyThe source we cite does not address pregnancy or breastfeeding, so the absence of a warning here is not clearance.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have a medical condition.

From the old books

What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.

“The whole plant is medicinal, and should be collected previous to its flowering. In the recent state, it has a lemon-like odor, which is nearly lost by drying.”
Harvey Wickes Felter and John Uri Lloyd, King's American Dispensatory (1905), vol. 2, p. 1252. See the page of King's American Dispensatory, vol. 2, p. 1252 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from King's American Dispensatory, vol. 2, p. 1252

Sources

  1. Lemon Balm - LiverTox - NCBI Bookshelf (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 15, 2026

Reviewed September 15, 2026.