What Is the Medicinal Use of Lemon Balm Essential Oil?

Lemon balm is a traditional ethnic medicinal herb that is widely used as a mild sedative, antispasmodic and antibacterial agent [1]. It is often used in folk medicine to treat nervous tension, headaches, abdominal disorders, improve appetite, promote digestion and treat simple lesions caused by herpes virus [2]. The “Compendium of Materia Medica” records that it has the effect of “awakening the brain, nourishing the heart, strengthening the stomach and aiding digestion” [3]. It has been cultivated as a medicinal plant for 2,000 years [4].

The essential oil of Lemon Balm can be obtained from the flowers, leaves and branches of Melissa officinalis by steam distillation and chemical extraction. It has a fresh lemon scent, a light yellow color, and a lower viscosity than water. It is called “the king of oils” in Hebrew [5] and has a variety of functions, such as sedative, carminative, antispasmodic, antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and improving blood glucose tolerance [6-7], with extremely high health care and medicinal value.

1 Essential oil composition

The composition of essential oils from plants varies under different climatic conditions. Factors affecting the composition and yield of essential oils include the light intensity, nutrient conditions, temperature, genotype, age and collection time of the plant. The essential oil of Melissa officinalis is no exception. For example, drought will reduce the total essential oil production but increase the relative percentage content [8]. In addition, the essential oil composition of different parts of the same plant also varies. For example, Sharafzadeh S et al. (2011) analyzed the essential oil composition of lavender grown in greenhouses by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and found that there were 20 types in the leaves, mainly geranial (43.1%), nerol (33.4%), pentadecane (4.7%), geranyl acetate (2.9%) and β-caryophyllene (2.4%), etc.; there are 19 types in the stems, mainly geranyl aldehyde (34.9%), nerol (23.5%), geranyl acetate (7.5%), palmitic acid (4.3%), caryophyllene oxide (4.0%) and β-caryophyllene (3.5%), etc. It has been found that the essential oil mainly contains aldehydes, terpenes and a small amount of phenolic compounds [9].

1.1 Aldehyde compounds

The main components of aldehyde compounds are citral, citronellal, nerol, geraniol and geranyl acetate. Taherpour AA (2012) extracted the essential oil from wild Melissa officinalis in Kurdistan Province of Iran and analyzed and identified 12 compounds. The main components were citral (37.2%), nerol (23.9%) and citronellal (20.3%) [10].

1.2 Terpenoids

Terpenoids include citronellol, geraniol, linalyl acetate, linalool, tannic acid, α-pinene, β-pinene and β-caryophyllene [11-12].

1.3 Small amounts of phenolic compounds

such as rosmarinic acid (RA), caffeic acid and 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl lactic acid ester [7].

2 Pharmacological effects

2.1 Sedative and soothing

Lemon Balm essential oil has a good effect on the treatment of symptoms of overexcitability, and can also inhibit the binding of t-butylbicyclophosphorothionate (TBPS, an anticonvulsant drug that can bind to type A GABA receptors) to the type A GABA receptor channels in the rat forebrain, but has no effect on ionotropic glutamate receptors NM-DA, AMPA and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors; Moreover, it has a reversible inhibitory effect on GABA-induced currents that is concentration-dependent, but no inhibitory effect on NMDA- and AMPA-induced currents. Melissa officinalis essential oil can significantly reduce the inhibitory or excitatory effects of neurotransmitter transmission in a dose-dependent manner, and has only a sedative effect on neurotransmission. Research results show that its anti-excitatory effect on patients and the inhibitory effect on nerve cell membranes in in vitro experiments may not be an interactive inhibitory effect between ionotropic receptors [13-14].

2.2 Anxiety resistance

GABA is currently an important target for research into the pathogenesis of anxiety disorders and the development of new anxiolytic drugs. Rosemary acid (RA) in essential oils exhibits unique biological activity in vivo, inhibiting the activity of GABA transaminase and thus inhibiting the degradation of GABA, thereby increasing the concentration of GABA in the brain and having a sedative, soothing and anxiolytic effect. Studies have found that mice show a slight sedative effect after inhaling the essential oil [15]. Ibarra A studied the effect of Melissa officinalis ethanol extract (mainly rosmarinic acid, triterpenoid oleanolic acid and ursolic acid) on rat anxiety through chronic administration, and found that the extract has an anxiolytic effect under appropriate stress [16].

2.3 Antibacterial

Melissa officinalis essential oil has potent antibacterial, antifungal and antiparasitic properties. The aldehydes, phenols or alcohols it contains can cause the cell membranes of microorganisms to dissolve and their functions to be disrupted [17]. It has a particularly strong inhibitory effect on the growth of Enterobacteriaceae bacteria and moulds [18]. Other components of the essential oil, such as rosmarinic acid, also have antibacterial activity [19].

2.4 Antiviral

Melissa officinalis essential oil has antiviral properties, especially against herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 (HSV-1, HSV-2). High concentrations of essential oil almost completely inhibit the infectivity of the virus, possibly by directly resisting the virus before it can adsorb and invade [20]. It has also been found that Melissa officinalis essential oil inhibits the replication of HSV-2 in HEp-2 cells; and the essential oil is non-toxic to HEp-2 cells at a concentration of ≤ 100 μg/ml [21]. A certain dose of Melissa officinalis essential oil in vitro can also inhibit the infectivity of the PR8 influenza virus and does not exhibit cytotoxicity to MDCK cells. In Melissa officinalis essential oil-treated MDCK cells infected with PR8 influenza virus, the mR-NA level of PR8 was basically unchanged compared with that of untreated infected cells, but the expression of some viral proteins NP and NS1 was inhibited. Therefore, the antiviral effect of essential oil may be achieved by inhibiting the translation of viral proteins [22].

2.5 Antitumor

A series of components that can resist human tumor cell lines (A549, MCF-7, Caco-2, HL-60, K562) and mouse cancer cell lines (B16F10) were isolated from Melissa officinalis essential oil under dry conditions [1]. Melissa officinalis extract can scavenge DPPH free radicals and inhibit the proliferation of human colon cancer cells [23].

2.6 Antioxidant

Melissa officinalis essential oil is rich in oxygenated terpenes, which have free radical scavenging and antioxidant activities [24]. In addition, the antioxidant activity is related to phenolic compounds such as citronellal and nerol in the essential oil. Melissa officinalis essential oil can be used as a natural fat-soluble antioxidant preservative for oil-based and fat-rich foods [11,25].

2.7 Hypoglycemic

Melissa essential oil can significantly lower blood glucose levels, and it plays an important role in regulating blood glucose and blood lipids in mice with type 2 diabetes. It can enhance the blood glucose tolerance of patients with type 2 diabetes, while also significantly increasing the level of insulin in the blood. Melissa essential oil can resist high blood glucose by promoting the activity of GCK in mouse liver cells and inhibiting the activity of G6Pase and PEPCK in the cells. Its hypoglycemic effect may be achieved by enhancing the uptake of glucose by the liver and adipose tissue and inhibiting the gluconeogenic process in the liver [6].

2.8 Lowering blood lipids

Melissa essential oil can significantly lower blood lipid levels. In human APOE transgenic mice, oral administration of Melissa essential oil (12.5 μg/d) for 2 weeks significantly reduced plasma triglyceride concentrations compared to the control group. The study found that oral administration of Melissa officinalis essential oil can alter the synthesis of bile acids and cholesterol and the metabolic pathways of fatty acids. Melissa officinalis essential oil treatment of HepG2 cells induced the synthesis of bile acids and down-regulated nuclear transcription factor SREBP-2. Compared with the control group, the concentration of triglycerides and cholesterol also decreased significantly (by 400 and 800 mg/L, respectively) in the essential oil treatment group [26]. In the liver and adipose tissue, the expression of genes related to glucose metabolism, such as SREBP-1C, PPAR-γ and GLUT4, is up-regulated to regulate blood lipids. Therefore, the plasma TAG concentration in the test group (essential oil treatment group) is significantly lower than that in the control group [6]. The results of the study show that Melissa officinalis essential oil has the effect of regulating blood lipid metabolism.

3 Pharmaceutical applications

Melissa essential oil has a moderate insecticidal resistance against Culex mosquitoes that transmit West Nile virus[27]. Topical application can repel mosquitoes and relieve the itching of mosquito bites[28]. Melissa essential oil is also one of the essential oils commonly used in aromatherapy, which can regularize menstruation, relieve menstrual pain and relax the body[29]. More and more pharmacological studies and clinical evidence have shown that the rational use of Melissa officinalis essential oil has achieved good results in the treatment of neurodegenerative neurological diseases such as nervous excitement, epilepsy, and acute and chronic mood disorders, with few side effects [30]. Based on current research progress, aromatherapy may be a potential treatment for dementia psychosis with good tolerance. However, there is currently little research in this area, and the main pharmacological components are still unclear, making its efficacy uncertain [31-32].

4 Summary and outlook

At present, the development and utilization of essential oil plant resources in China is far from adequate. Only 140 species have been developed and utilized, and most of them are limited to the fragrance and cosmetics industries. A few are used in other industries such as medicine and food. The main limitation is that the research on some pharmacological mechanisms and their related active ingredients is not in-depth. Therefore, strengthening research on the pharmacological mechanism of Melissa officinalis essential oil and identifying key chemical components will not only provide reasonable treatment options for future clinical research and practice, but also optimize treatment effects. Therefore, strengthening the development and research of volatile oil plant resources in medicine, food, and other fields has broad development prospects.

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