Melissa officinalis - essential oil perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the genus Melissa of the family Acacia. The plant is an essential component of many recipes of traditional medicine. Melissa has been used for the treatment of various diseases for 2000 years. Melissa officinalis is also known as lemon mint, mother liquor, honey cake, women's grass, roe-marts, bee mint, apiary, lemon balm or lemon grass. Despite the fact that the national name of the plant is lemon mint, in fact, mint is a completely different culture, belonging to another genus of the Cluster family.
Melissa officinalis
Medicinal lemon balm is a herbaceous plant that exudes a lemon scent. Grass bushes can reach a height of 30 to 120 centimeters. The plant has a strong, well-branched root system and a powerful tetrahedral erect stem. The special charm of the bush is given by the fact that its stem and leaves are covered with small villi, which gives the impression that the whole bush is covered with a soft down.
Did you know? From the Greek name of the plant "lemon balm" is translated as "bee". Culture got its name for a reason: its scent attracts and has a calming effect on bees. Ancient beekeepers quickly found effective use of this property of lemon balm: when working in the apiary, they carefully rubbed the grass with their hands, so that the bees did not sting them. They also treated the hives inside the lemon balm juice, making the insects more willing to settle in the new house. In addition, the Greeks considered Melissa a powerful aphrodisiac, and therefore very often used it to attract the attention of the opposite sex.
The culture is covered with soft, fragrant, long-stemmed, heart-shaped, egg-shaped leaves, having an interno-serrate edge. During the flowering period, small white or pink-white inflorescences form on the bushes, transforming into large, dry, cracking black fruits into four nuts.
Chemical composition and nutritional value of lemon balm
100 grams of lemon balm herb contains 49 kcal, proteins - 3.7 g, fats - 0.4 g and carbohydrates - 8 g. The culture contains potassium, sodium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc, iron, manganese, as well as vitamins of groups B, C, PP and A. Melissa has pronounced medicinal properties that can be used to treat nervous exhaustion, chronic fatigue, insomnia, hysteria and post-traumatic stress disorders.
Useful properties of lemon balm for the human body
Melissa lemon has a whole range of useful properties and a small number of contraindications, which allows it to be used as part of complex therapy for the treatment of most diseases. The therapeutic potential allows Melissa to make a worthy competition even to the famous ginseng root. Melissa officinalis has a wide range of indications for use, due to the presence in its composition of a balanced vitamin-mineral complex, a significant amount of essential oils, bitterness, tannins, saponins, flavonoids, stearins and organic acids.
Despite the fact that lemon mint has pronounced healing properties, its contraindications do not allow its use under reduced pressure, as it has a strong hypotensive effect. The healing properties of lemon balm were known to ancient healers, but even today it continues to be an important component of many medicinal herbal teas.
Grass is remembered when it is necessary to relieve emotional tension, calm down pissed off nerves and return strong and healthy sleep. Melissa perfectly enhances immunity in immunodeficiency states caused by avitaminosis or long-term chronic disease. It will also help recuperate in case of chronic overwork, loss of vital energy, easily raise the pep and return a good mood.
Did you know? In Russia, for a long time Melissa was used as a powerful sedative. It was used to treat hysteria, fainting, various heart diseases, paralysis, and the flu.
Melissa is an excellent diuretic, antispasmodic and analgesic. Infusion of lemon balm is recommended to use systematically those who are prone to attacks of heart rhythm disturbances, needs to improve the motility of the intestine and stomach. Systematic use of herbs will speed up digestion and relieve meteorism and constipation.
Due to the high content in the plant of essential oils, lemon balm has a pleasant specific taste and lemon-mint flavor. At room temperature, the oils in the lemon balm have a liquid consistency, and when heated, they evaporate very easily, so it is impossible to dry the plant at high temperatures.
How to use lemon balm
The high content of essential oils in the pelaine allows it to be used for inhalation. In addition, its constituent substances have a pronounced anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, anticonvulsant, analgesic, disinfectant and antibacterial effects, which allows it to be used to treat a variety of ailments. But despite the fact that the grass of Melissa has excellent healing properties, it has its own contraindications, and therefore it is necessary to take the plant very carefully and strictly observing the dosage.
Oxygen and nitrogen compounds that are part of lemon balm promote active secretion of gastric juice, increase salivation, and stimulate appetite. The plant is very often used as an antiemetic for toxicosis of pregnant women, and also as an excellent choleretic agent. Each of the dosage forms - tea, decoction, tincture, infusion - has its own beneficial properties. For example, the extract of the herb melissa has pronounced sedative properties, which allows its use in the treatment of hysteria, increased nervousness and increased anxiety.
Tea is an excellent remedy for colds, insomnia and neurosis, it is also taken when you need to quickly get rid of nervous overstrain, calm down and stabilize the emotional state. In addition, lemon grass tea is actively used as part of complex therapy in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorders. The decoction is taken in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, getting rid of nausea and vomiting, improve memory and normalize heart rhythm.
Lemon balm tea
They make delicious tea from lemon balm, because the herb has many beneficial properties and a pleasant aroma, but it also has its own contraindications, and therefore, in order not to harm your health, it is recommended to consult a doctor before starting treatment. Tea from lemon balm improves cerebral circulation, relieves headaches and dizziness, it is taken for heart rhythm disturbances, melancholy, depression and anemia.
Important! Men should carefully treat the use of lemon balm tea, since its excessive and prolonged intake can adversely affect the male potency. It is also better to abandon the use of tea from lemon balm, if immediately after that you need an increased concentration of attention, since the plant significantly slows down the reaction.
If you want to make tea from lemon balm, then you will need some fresh or dry leaves of grass. They just pour a glass of boiling water and insist for 15 minutes. It is better to use this flavored drink before bedtime, as it has a pronounced hypnotic effect. But in the morning it is better to refuse to receive this flavored drink, as it will turn you into a sleepy fly. Taking tea from lemon balm is recommended along with a teaspoon of honey, which will enhance not only its aromatic, but also healing properties. Also, this tool is used for intestinal colic, flatulence and colitis.
Application of infusion
Melissa infusions are used if you need to quickly regain excellent health, emotional balance with neurosis, get rid of insomnia, and also alleviate the condition during migraine. Infusion helps alleviate the condition of patients with bronchial asthma, reduces shortness of breath with heart, as well as pulmonary insufficiency.
Infusion of lemon balm is considered an effective remedy for many diseases and pathological conditions, which is explained by the fact that the herb has pronounced healing properties, and its contraindications are so minor that they are limited to only a few diseases. Due to the fact that the plant contains a significant amount of biologically active substances , it is taken as a tonic, tonic and prophylactic agent with reduced immunity and frequent colds infections. Hot melissa infusion has excellent diaphoretic means, and in cold - as a refreshing, sedative.
How to use broth lemon balm
To prepare melissa tea, take 0.5 tablespoon of herbs, pour boiling water over a glass, boil for 15 minutes in a water bath and let it brew for 45 minutes more. Then strain the broth and bring to 250 ml with warm boiled water. Broth take 0.5 cups three times a day. Despite the creation of a huge number of drugs, in Lithuania, still lemon balm with marjoram is considered an effective remedy for memory impairment.
Important! Melissa is a non-hazardous herb, however, even if it is used improperly, it can cause significant harm to health. Broth lemon balm is able to enhance the inflammatory processes that are in the advanced stages, so it is extremely dangerous to make lotions from it for furunculosis, carbunculosis and acne.
And if you mix the lemon balm with decoctions of other herbs rich in essential oils, you can use it to take aromatic baths in the treatment of allergic dermatitis.
Tincture of lemon balm on alcohol
Melissa tincture on alcohol can be bought already prepared in a pharmacy or prepared by yourself. To do this, take 5 parts of alcohol or vodka and 1 part of lemongrass grass. Grass insist on alcohol for 30 days in a dark place, periodically shaking the container. After this, the infusion is filtered and taken orally in an hour a field of food for 15 drops. Take tinctures of lemon balm is recommended for painful menstruation in women, increased nervousness, insomnia, memory loss and flatulence. It is also believed that this remedy helps to cope with migraines and dizziness.
Melissa: contraindications to use
Melissa officinalis has minor contraindications that allows you to use it to almost everyone. The only thing you should pay attention to when treating lemon mint is the level of blood pressure. The herb has a pronounced hypotensive effect, and its use in this case can aggravate the disease and even cause fainting.
Important! If you are receiving a complex treatment, you should consult with your doctor before starting taking lemon balm: the plant is absolutely incompatible with some medications, as it can either neutralize or enhance their effect.
Melissa is able to reduce pressure. Therefore, if you suffer from hypotension, you must carefully treat the use of tinctures, decoctions and teas from this plant.
How to prepare and store lemon balm
During harvesting, lemon balm bushes are cut at a height of about 10 cm from the ground. If you need to pick up lemon balm from a large plot, then a mower is quite suitable for this purpose. And if the plantation is small, then you can fully use a sickle or clippers. Harvest the leaves along with the apical parts of the stems. Drying Melissa should be in special dryers or outdoors in the shade. In extreme cases, the grass can be laid out for drying in a well-ventilated area. The main thing when drying lemon balm is that it should not be dried at high temperatures, since in this case all essential oils will evaporate and it will lose all of its healing properties.
After drying, lemon balm is stored in paper bags or in glass jars with tight-fitting iron lids. Sometimes we do not even suspect that the plant has unique healing properties, and in order to get rid of the disease, you just need not be lazy, gather herbs and make a tasty and fragrant tea from it.
