Lemon Balm / Melissa officinalis

The Basics

What is Lemon Balm / Melissa officinalis?

Used for anxiety, stress, insomnia, indigestion, and memory issues, but there is no good scientific evidence to support many of these uses.

Brand names for Lemon Balm / Melissa officinalis

Na

How Lemon Balm / Melissa officinalis is classified

Complementary Therapies, Phytotherapy, Plants, Medicinal

Lemon Balm / Melissa officinalis During Pregnancy

Lemon Balm / Melissa officinalis pregnancy category

Category N/ANote that the FDA has deprecated the use of pregnancy categories, so for some medications, this information isn’t available. We still think it’s useful to list historical info, however, given what a common proxy this has been in the past.

What we know about taking Lemon Balm / Melissa officinalis while pregnant

N/A

Taking Lemon Balm / Melissa officinalis While Breastfeeding

What are recommendations for lactation if you're taking Lemon Balm / Melissa officinalis?

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) contains a lemon-scented essential oil containing citronellal, neral, and geranial monoterpenoid aldehydes; polyphenolic compounds (including rosmarinic acid); and monoterpene glycosides. Lemon balm has no specific lactation-related uses. No data exist on the excretion of any components of lemon balm into breastmilk or on the safety and efficacy of lemon balm in nursing mothers or infants. However, it has been safely and effectively used with other herbs in infants for the treatment of colic, diarrhea, and other conditions,[1][2] so the smaller amounts expected (but not demonstrated) in breastmilk are likely not to be harmful with usual maternal doses. Lemon balm is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) as a food flavoring by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As a drug, it is generally well tolerated in adults with nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dizziness, and wheezing reported occasionally. Dietary supplements do not require extensive pre-marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Manufacturers are responsible to ensure the safety, but do not need to prove the safety and effectiveness of dietary supplements before they are marketed. Dietary supplements may contain multiple ingredients, and differences are often found between labeled and actual ingredients or their amounts. A manufacturer may contract with an independent organization to verify the quality of a product or its ingredients, but that does not certify the safety or effectiveness of a product. Because of the above issues, clinical testing results on one product may not be applicable to other products.

Maternal / infant drug levels

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) contains a lemon-scented essential oil containing citronellal, neral, and geranial monoterpenoid aldehydes; polyphenolic compounds (including rosmarinic acid); and monoterpene glycosides. Lemon balm has no specific lactation-related uses. No data exist on the excretion of any components of lemon balm into breastmilk or on the safety and efficacy of lemon balm in nursing mothers or infants. However, it has been safely and effectively used with other herbs in infants for the treatment of colic, diarrhea, and other conditions,[1][2] so the smaller amounts expected (but not demonstrated) in breastmilk are likely not to be harmful with usual maternal doses. Lemon balm is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) as a food flavoring by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As a drug, it is generally well tolerated in adults with nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dizziness, and wheezing reported occasionally. Dietary supplements do not require extensive pre-marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Manufacturers are responsible to ensure the safety, but do not need to prove the safety and effectiveness of dietary supplements before they are marketed. Dietary supplements may contain multiple ingredients, and differences are often found between labeled and actual ingredients or their amounts. A manufacturer may contract with an independent organization to verify the quality of a product or its ingredients, but that does not certify the safety or effectiveness of a product. Because of the above issues, clinical testing results on one product may not be applicable to other products.

Possible effects of Lemon Balm / Melissa officinalis on milk supply

A randomized trial assigned mothers of preterm infants to receive either a purported herbal galactogogue tea twice daily, a fruit tea twice daily or nothing. The galactogogue tea mixture (Natal, Hipp [Turkey]) contained 1% stinging nettle as well as melissa, caraway, anise, fennel, goat’s rue, and lemon grass in unspecified amounts. All mothers received similar breastfeeding advice from the same nurse and two groups were told that the tea would increase milk production, but compliance with the study teas was not assessed. Mother used breast pumps to extract and measure their milk and output on day 1 and day 7 of the study were compared. Although the increase in volume of extracted milk was greater in the galactogogue tea group, there was no difference in maternal serum prolactin between the groups at 7 days. No difference in infant weight gain was seen between groups, although the authors stated that additional supplementation was provided to all infants in addition to the pumped milk.[3] The study was not blinded, the randomization method was not stated, intent-to-treat analysis was not performed, and some of the numerical results were internally inconsistent, so the quality of the study was poor.

Possible alternatives to Lemon Balm / Melissa officinalis

None listed