The Basics On Melissa Officinalis

What is Melissa Officinalis?

What are other names for Melissa Officinalis?

BALM (MELISSA OFFICINALIS L.), BALM MINT ESSENTIAL OIL, BALM MINT LEAF OIL, BALM MINT OIL, BALM MINT OIL, ESSENTIAL, BALM OIL, BALM OIL (MELISSA OFFICINALIS L.), ESSENTIAL BALM MINT OIL, LEMON BALM, LEMON BALM OIL, MELISSA OFFICINALIS (LEMON BALM) OIL, MELISSA OFFICINALIS LEAF OIL, MELISSA OFFICINALIS OIL, MELISSA OFFICINALIS OILS, MELISSA OIL, OIL OF BALM, OIL OF MELISSA, OIL, ESSENTIAL, BALM MINT, and OILS, MELISSA OFFICINALIS

What is Melissa Officinalis used for?

How Melissa Officinalis is classified

Plant Extracts, Sensitizing, Fragrance: Synthetic and Fragrant Plant Extracts

Recommendations for using Melissa Officinalis during pregnancy and breastfeeding

Avoid

 

Melissa Officinalis During Pregnancy

What we know about using Melissa Officinalis while pregnant or breastfeeding

Limited information available.

Non-Human Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract Oral administration of Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract adversely affected fertility in male rats.50 Groups of 10 male Sprague Dawley rats were dosed by gavage with 1 ml of 0, 250, or 500 mg/kg bw/day of an ethanol extract of Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaves in distilled water. After 53 days of dosing, each male rat was mated with two untreated female rats for 10 days; the female rats had been given a subcutaneous (s.c.) dose of 5.0 mg estradiol benzoate 54 h before and 0.5 mg progesterone 6 h before being placed with the males. The males were dosed during, and killed after, the 10-day mating period, and the reproductive organs were examined. The females were killed 1 wk after removal of the males, and the reproductive tract of each female was examined to determine pregnancy and the number of implantation sites, viable fetuses, and fetal resorptions. 7 The body weights of male rats of the test groups were similar to those of controls. The absolute and relative organ to body weights of the testes, epididymides, seminal vesicles, ventral prostates, and vas deferens of the high dose animals were statistically significantly reduced compared to the controls. The sperm motility in cauda epididymides, sperm density, seminiferous tubule diameter, Leydig cell nuclear diameter, and epithelial height in epididymides and seminal vesicles were also statistically significantly reduced in the animals dosed with 500 mg/kg bw/day Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract. Also in the high-dose group rats, germinal cells (i.e., spermatogonia, primary and secondary spermatocytes, and spermatids) and interstitial cells (i.e., fibroblasts and immature and mature Leydig cells) were statistically significantly decreased, and degenerating cells were statistically significantly increased. Clinical chemistry parameters were also evaluated; testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone levels were statistically significantly decreased in high-dose male rats. Exposure to 500 mg/kg bw Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract reduced fertility; the number of pregnant females was decreased in this group, there was a statistically significant decrease in the number of implantations and viable fetuses, and the total number of resorptions was statistically significantly increased. The same trends were generally found in the rats of the low-dose groups, but the changes did not reach statistical significance. Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract A group of 12 gravid female Wistar rats was dosed by gavage with 26 mg/day of a 30% aq. extract of Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) flower/leaf/stem extract (13 mg/ml solids) on days 1-6 of gestation (preimplantation), and a group of 14 gravid rats was dosed with the extract on days 6-15 of gestation (organogenesis).51 Negative control groups of 12 or 11 gravid rats were given saline by gavage on days 1-6 or 6-15 of gestation, respectively. All dams were killed on day 21 of gestation. No signs of maternal toxicity were observed, and maternal weight gains were similar for treated and control groups. In the rats dosed on days 1-6 of gestation, a non-statistically significant increase in preimplantation loss was observed. No changes in post-implantation loss were seen as compared to controls, and no other reproductive parameters were affected. In the group treated on days 6-15 of gestation, a non-statistically significant increase in post-implantation loss rate (2.54%) was reported; analysis of the resorptions found that they occurred during the early post-implantation period. No other changes in reproductive parameters were observed when compared to the negative control group. Developmental effects were not observed in either group. Human According to the PDR for Herbal Medicines, rosemary preparations should not be used as a drug during pregnancy. 4 According to Herbal Drugs and Phytopharmaceuticals, toxic side effects may occur with components of the essential oil.3 Estrogenic Activity Non-Human Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract The effect of a methanol extract of Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaves on Œ≤-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)-dependent microsomal metabolism of 17Œ≤-estradiol and estrone was evaluated in liver microsomes from female CD-1 mice.52 The mice (number used not specified) had been fed a diet containing 2% of the extract for 3 wks. The control animals were fed a basal diet. [4- 14C]Estradiol, 20 or 50 ¬µM, or [4- 14C]estrone, 20 ¬µM, in ethanol (0.5 ¬µCi) were used in the reaction mixture. With [4- 14C]estradiol, 2-hydroxyestradiol was the major metabolite in microsomes from both control and from Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract-fed mice; the extract statistically significantly increased the formation of this metabolite by 137-139%. The extract also increased the formation of 2-hydroxyestrone by 140-156%, and the conversion of estradiol to 2-hydroxyestradiol + 2-hydroxyestrone was increased by 140-180% over controls. The formation of 16Œ±-hydroxyestradiol was decreased by 50-63% in the Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract group; the decrease (63%) was statistically significant with 20 ¬µM estradiol. Other statistically significant changes were increases in the formation of 6Œ±-hydroxyestradiol (60%); 6Œ≤-hydroxyestradiol (10%); and 6Œ≤-hydroxyestrone (117%). With [4- 14C]estrone, 2-hydroxyestrone and 2-hydroxyestradiol were the major metabolites in the control and rosemarytreated microsomes; rosemary statistically significantly increased the formation of both of these metabolites by 143 and 156%, respectively. The conversion of estrone to 2-hydroxyestrone + 2-hydroxyestradiol by rosemary-treated microsomes was increased by 150-175%% over controls. The only other statistically significant change in rosemary-treated microsomes compared to controls was a 67% increase in the formation of 6Œ≤-hydroxyestrone. There was little or no conversion of estrone to 14Œ±-hydroxyestradiol, 16Œ±-hydroxyestradiol, or 4-hydroxyestradiol. The researchers also examined the effect of Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract on uridine-5′-diphosphoglucuronic acid (UDPGA)-dependent microsomal glucuronidation of estradiol and estrone. Administration of 2% Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract to female CD-1 mice (number used not specified) in the diet for 3 wks statistically significantly increased the rate of liver microsomal glucuronidation of estradiol (at pH 7.4 and 8.75) by 60-75% compared to untreated control values. The UDPGA-dependent microsomal glucuronidation of 4-nitrophenl was increased by <25%. Groups of seven or eight 6-wk old ovariectomized CD-1 mice were fed a diet containing 2% of a methanol extract of Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaves or the basal diet.52 After 3 wks, the animals were given an i.p. injection of 0, 45, or 100 8 ng/mouse estradiol or estrone in 50 ¬µl corn oil, once daily for 3 days. Eighteen h after the last injection, the animals were killed and the uterus was removed. In the mice fed the basal diet, estradiol and estrone increased the uterine wet weight in a dose-dependent manner. Rosemary inhibited the uterine response in a statistically significant manner, with an inhibition of 35-50%. Rosmarinic Acid The mouse uterotrophic assay was conducted on rosmarinic acid in ovariectomized C57BL/6J mice.53 Mice were dosed by gavage or s.c. with up to 1000 mg/kg bw/day rosmarinic acid for 7 days. 17Œ±-Ethynyl estradiol was used as a reference control. Oral exposure did not have an agonistic or antagonistic effect. With s.c. administration, rosmarinic acid had an antagonistic effect. The lowest effect level (LOEL), defined as the lowest dose that induced significant change in uterine weight, was 300 mg/kg bw/day, s.c. The AN50 (interpolated dose that suppressed the uterotrophic effect of the reference 17Œ±-ethynyl estradiol to 50% of the maximal uterine response) was 188 mg/kg bw/day, s.c. Human Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract In a study investigating the effects of a botanical supplement on sex steroid hormones and metabolic markers in premenopausal women, a few changes were found; overall, however, the changes were not very remarkable.54 A group of 15 premenopausal women were asked to take a supplement containing 100 mg Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf 5:1 extract; 100 mg Curcurma longa (turmeric) root extract standardized to 95% curcumin; 100 mg Cyanara scolymus (artichoke) leaf 6:1 extract; 100 mg Silybum marinum (milk thistle) seed extracted standardized to 80% silybin, silichristin, silidianin, and silymarin; 100 mg Taraxacum officinalis (dandelion) root 4:1 extract; and 50 mg Schidandra chinensis (berry) 20:1 extract. Four capsules were to be taken twice a day with meals. Rice powder placebo capsules were given to a group of 15 premenopausal women using the same dosing regimen. Blood and urine samples were collected during the early-follicular and midluteal phases of study menstrual cycles 1 and 5. On average, test subjects took 6.3 capsules/day, and controls took 7.1 capsules/day. Compared to the placebo group, the following changes from Cycle 1 to Cycle 5 in early-follicular phase serum hormone concentrations were statistically significant or borderline significant: decreases in serum dehydroepiandrosterone (-13.2%, p= 0.02); dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (- 14.6%, p=0.07); androstenedione (-8.6%, p=0.05); and estrone sulfate (-12.0%, p=0.08). No other statistically significant changes or trends were observed for other serum sex steroid hormones, serum metabolic markers, or urinary estrogen metabolites at either phase.

General safety info about Melissa Officinalis from CIR

No report found.

Use this, not that!

Coming soon!

Products where you might find Melissa Officinalis

Bumble and bumble Thickening Volume Conditioner; Bumble and bumble Sunday Clarifying Shampoo; rms beauty Luminizing & Bronzing Powders

 

 

 

List of References

General sources: Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed) [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); 2006-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK501922/

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Disclaimer: This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Consult your healthcare provider with any questions.

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