Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) – chemical composition and biological activity
RENATA NURZYŃSKA-WIERDAK
Katedra Warzywnictwa i Roślin Leczniczych, Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy w Lublinie, ul. St. Leszczyńskiego 58, 20-068 LublinAbstract
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) from the mint family (Lamiaceae) is native to the Mediterranean region and in the wild it is found in its eastern part; it also occurs as a naturalised plant that have escaped from cultivation in Europe, as well as in the temperate zones of Asia and America. The herbal material comprises leaves (Melissae folium) of lemon balm, while the essential oil, found in dried raw material at a level of 0.02-0.30%, is the main biologically active substance. The dominant components of lemon balm essential oil are as follows: citral (geranial and neral), citronellal, geraniol, β-pinene, α-pinene, and β-caryophyllene. The lemon balm leaf is also rich in other biologically active substances, such as tannins, bitters, flavonoids, phenolic acids, chlorophyll and carotenoids, triterpene compounds as well as mineral compounds. Lemon balm extracts and essential oil show antimicrobial and antioxidant activity as well as they have sedative and antidepressant effects. Essential oil synthesis in lemon balm is clearly influenced by genetic factors, but it is also affected by environmental factors, whereas the qualitative composition of the oil is relatively constant. The antioxidant activity of lemon balm essential oil is most probably associated with the presence of its dominant components; the presence of phenolics, flavonoids as well as α-tocopherol and β-carotene in lemon balm raw material enhances its antioxidant activity.
Keywords:
Lamiaceae, Melissae folium, essential oil, biological activityReferences
Abbaszadeh B., Farahani H.A., Morteza E., 2009. Effects of irrigation levels on essential oil of balm (Melissa officinalis L.). Am.-Euras. J. Sustain. Agric. 3 (1), 53–56.
Adinee J., Piri K., Karami O., 2008. Essentials oil component in flower of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.). Am. J. Biochem. Biotechnol. 4 (3), 277–278.
Adzet T., Ponz R., Wolf E., Schulze E., 1992. Investigation of the content and composition of essential oil of Melissa officinalis. Part II. Planta Med. 58 (6), 562–564.
Aziz E.E., El-Ashry S.M., 2009. Efficiency of slow release urea fertilizer on herb yield and essential oil production of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) plant. Am-Euras. J. Agric. Environ. Sci. 5 (2), 141–147.
Bagdat R.B., Cosge B., 2006. The essential oil of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.), its components and using fields. J. Fac. Agric. OMU 21 (1), 116–121.
Carnat A.P., Carnat A., Fraisse D., Lamaison J.L., 1998. The aromatic and polyphenolic composition of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L. subsp. officinalis) tea. Pharm. Acta Helv. 72 (5), 301–305.
Chung M.J., Cho S.-Y., Bhuiyan J.H., Kim K.H., Lee S.-J., 2010. Anti-diabetic effects of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) essential oil on glucose- and lipid-regulating enzymes in type 2 diabetic mice. Br. J. Nutr. 104, 180–188.
Crowell P.L., Kennan H., Ahmad V., 1992. Chemoprevention of mammary carcinogenesis by hydroxylated derivatives of d-limonene. Carcinogenesis 13, 1261–1264.
Dastmalchi K., Dorman H.J.D., Oinonen P.P., Darwis Y., Laakso I., Hiltunen R., 2008. Chemical composition and in vitro antioxidative activity of a lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) extract. LWT 41. 391–400.
Dias M.I., Barros L., Sousa M.J., Ferraira C.F.R., 2012. Systematic comparison of nutraceuticals and antioxidant potential of cultivated, in vitro cultured and commercial Melissa officinalis samples. Food Chem. Toxicol. 50, 1866–1873.
Dikbas N., Bagc E., Kotan R., Cakmakci R., Ozer H., Mete E., Erdogan G., 2010. Comparative antibacterial activities and chemical composition of some plants oils against Salmonella enteritidis. Res. Crops 11 (1), 118–124.
Dogan S., Diken M.E., Dogan M., 2010. Antioxidant, phenolic and protein contents of some medicinal plants. J. Med. Plant. Res. 4 (23), 2566–2573.
Emamghoreishi M., Talebianpour M.S., 2009. Antidepressant effect of Melissa officinalis in the forced swimming test. DARU 17 (1), 42–47.
Gawlik-Dziki U., 2004. Fenolokwasy jako bioaktywne składniki żywności. Żywn. Nauka. Technol. Jakość 4 (41), 29–40.
Góra J., Lis A., 2004. Najcenniejsze olejki eteryczne. Wydaw. UMK, Toruń.
Hussain A.I., Anwar F., Iqbal T., Bhatti I.A., 2011. Antioxidant attributes of four Lamiaceae essential oils. Pak. J. Bot. 43 (2), 1315–1321.
Kato-Noguchi H., 2001. Effects of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) extract on germination and seedling growth of six plants. Acta Physiol. Plant. 23 (1), 49–53.
Khalid K.A., Hu W., Cai W., 2008. The effects of harvesting and different drying methods on the essential oil composition of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.). J. Essent. Oil Bear. Plants 11 (4), 342–349.
Khalid K.A., Cai W., Achmed A.M.A., 2009a. Effect of harvesting treatments and distillation methods on the essentials oil of lemon balm and apple geranium plants. J. Essent. Oil Bear. Plants 12 (2), 120–130.
Khalid K.A., Hu W., Cai W., Hussein M.S. 2009b. Influence of cutting and harvest day time on the essential oils of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.). J. Essent. Oil Bear. Plants 12 (3), 348–357.
Klimek B., Majda T., Góra J., Patora J., 2000. Badanie olejku eterycznego kocimiętki cytrynowej (Nepeta cataria L. var. citriodora) w porównaniu z olejkiem melisy lekarskiej (Melissa officinalis L.). Herba Pol. 46, 4, 226–234.
Koksal E., Bursal E., Dikici E., Tozoglu F., Gulcin I., 2011. Antioxidant activity of Melissa officinalis leaves. J. Med. Plant. Res. 5 (2), 217–222.
Marongiu B., Porcedda S., Piras A., Rosa A., Deiana M., Deski M.A., 2004. Antioxidant activity of supercritical extract of Melissa officinalis subsp. officinalis and Melissa officinalis subsp. indora. Phytother. Res. 18, 789–792.
Meftahizade H., Sargsyan E., Moradkhani H., 2010. Investigation of antioxidant capacity of Melissa officinalis L. essential oils. J. Med. Plant. Res. 4 (14), 1391–1395.
Mencherini T., Picerno P., Scesa C., Aquino R., 2007. Triterpene, antioxidant, and antimicrobial compounds from Melissa officinalis. J. Nat. Prod. 70, 1889–1894.
Miceli A., Negro C., Tommasi L., 2006. Essential oil of Melissa romana (Miller) grown in Southern Apulia (Italy). J. Essent. Oil Res. 18, 473–475.
Mimica-Dukic N., Bozin B., Sokolic M., Simin N., 2004. Antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Melissa officinalis L. (Lamiaceae) essential oil. J. Agric. Food Chem. 52 (9), 2485–2489.
Moqbeli E., Fathollahi S., Olfati J.-A., Peyvast G.-A., Hamidoqli Y., Bakhshi D., 2011. Investigation of soil condition on yield and essential oil in lemon balm. South West. J. Hortic. Biol. Environ. 2 (1), 87–93.
Moradkhani H., Sargsyan E., Bibak H., Naseri B., Sadat-Hosseini M., Fayazi-Barjin A., Meftahizade H., 2010. Melissa officinalis L., a valuable medicine plant: A review. J. Med. Plant. Res. 4 (25), 2753–2759.
Mrlianová M., Tekel'ova D., Felklová M., Reinohl V., Tóth J., 2002. The influence of the harvest cut height on the quality of the herbal drugs Melissae folium and Melissae herba. Planta Med. 68 (2), 178–180.
Oniga I., Vlase L., Toiu A., Benedec D., Duda M., 2010. Evaluation of phenolic acid derivatives and essential oil content in some Melissa officinalis L. varieties. Farmacia 58 (6), 764–769.
Ozturk A., Unlukara A., Ipek A., Gurbuz B., 2004. Effects of salt stress and water deficit on plant growth and essential oil content of lemon balm (Melisa officinalis L.). Pak. J. Bot. 36 (4), 787–792.
Özcan M.M., Ünver A., Ucar T., Arslan D., 2008. Mineral content of some herbs and herbal teas by infusion and decoction. Food Chem. 106, 1120–1127.
Patora J., Majda T., Góra J., Klimek B., 2003. Variability in the content and composition of essentials oil from lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) cultivated in Poland. Acta Pol. Pharm. 60 (5), 395–400.
Pereira R.P., Fachinetto R., Sousa Prestes A. de, Puntel R.L., Silva G.N.S. da, Heinzmann B.M., Boschetti T.K., Athayde M.L., Burger M.E., Morel A.F., Pino J.A. Rosado A., Fuentes V., 1999. Composition of the essential oil of Melissa officinalis L. from Cuba. J. Essent. Oil Res. 11 (3), 363–364.
Ponce A.G., Valle C.E. del, Roura S.I., 2004. Natural essential oils as reducing agents of peroxidase activity in leafy vegetables. Lebens. Wiss. – Technol. 37, 199–204.
Rostami H., Kazemi M., Shafiei S., 2012. Antibacterial activity of Lavandula officinalis and Melissa officinalis against some human pathogenic bacteria. Asian J. Biochem. 7 (3), 133–142.
Rumińska A., 1983. Rośliny lecznicze. PWN, Warszawa.
Saeb K., Gholamrezaee S., Asadi M., 2011. Variation of antioxidant activity of Melissa officinalis leaves extracts during the different stages of plant growth. Biomed. Pharmacol. J. 4 (2), 237–243.
Sari A.O., Ceylan A., 2002. Yield characteristics and essential oil composition of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) grown in the Aegean region of Turkey. Turk. J. Agric. For. 26, 217–224.
Schnitzler P., Schuhmacher A., Astani A., Reichling J., 2008. Melissa officinalis oil affects infectivity of enveloped herpesviruses. Phytomed 15 (9), 734–740.
Sharafzadeh S., Khosh-Khui M., Javidnia K., 2011a. Aroma profile of leaf and steam of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) grown under greenhouse conditions. Adv. Environ. Biol. 5 (4), 547–550.
Sharafzadeh S., Khosh-Khui M., Javidnia K., 2011b. Effect of nutrients on essential oil components, pigments and total phenolic content of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.). Adv. Environ. Biol. 5 (4), 639–646.
Silva S. da, Sato A., Salgueiro Lage C.L., Silva San Gil R.A. da, Almeida Azevedo D. de, Esquibel M.A., 2005 Essential oil composition of Melissa officinalis L. in vitro produced under the influence of grown regulators. J. Braz. Chem. Soc. 16 (6B), 1387–1390.
Sousa A.C. de, Gattass C.R., Alviano D.S., Blank A.F., Alves P.B., 2004. Melissa officinalis L. essential oil: antitumoral and antioxidant activities. J. Pharm. Pharmacol. 56 (5), 677–681.
Spiridon I., Colceru S., Anghel N., Teaca C.A., Bodirlau R., Armatu A., 2011. Antioxidant capacity and total phenolic contents of oregano (Origanum vulgare), lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) from Romania. Nat. Prod. Res. 25 (17), 1657–1661.
Stanojević D., Čomić L.J., Stefanović O., Solujić Sukdolak S., 2010. In vitro synergistic antibacterial activity of Melissa officinalis L. and some preservatives. Span. J. Agric. Res. 8 (1), 109–115.
Tóth J., Mrlianová M., Tekel’ová D, Koreňová M., 2003. Rosmarinic acid – an important phenolic active compound of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.). Acta Facult. Pharm. Univ. Comenianae 50 (1), 139–146.
Weitzel C., Petersen M., 2011. Cloning and characterization of rosmarinic acid synthase from Melissa officinalis L. Phytochemistry 72, 572–578.
Adinee J., Piri K., Karami O., 2008. Essentials oil component in flower of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.). Am. J. Biochem. Biotechnol. 4 (3), 277–278.
Adzet T., Ponz R., Wolf E., Schulze E., 1992. Investigation of the content and composition of essential oil of Melissa officinalis. Part II. Planta Med. 58 (6), 562–564.
Aziz E.E., El-Ashry S.M., 2009. Efficiency of slow release urea fertilizer on herb yield and essential oil production of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) plant. Am-Euras. J. Agric. Environ. Sci. 5 (2), 141–147.
Bagdat R.B., Cosge B., 2006. The essential oil of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.), its components and using fields. J. Fac. Agric. OMU 21 (1), 116–121.
Carnat A.P., Carnat A., Fraisse D., Lamaison J.L., 1998. The aromatic and polyphenolic composition of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L. subsp. officinalis) tea. Pharm. Acta Helv. 72 (5), 301–305.
Chung M.J., Cho S.-Y., Bhuiyan J.H., Kim K.H., Lee S.-J., 2010. Anti-diabetic effects of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) essential oil on glucose- and lipid-regulating enzymes in type 2 diabetic mice. Br. J. Nutr. 104, 180–188.
Crowell P.L., Kennan H., Ahmad V., 1992. Chemoprevention of mammary carcinogenesis by hydroxylated derivatives of d-limonene. Carcinogenesis 13, 1261–1264.
Dastmalchi K., Dorman H.J.D., Oinonen P.P., Darwis Y., Laakso I., Hiltunen R., 2008. Chemical composition and in vitro antioxidative activity of a lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) extract. LWT 41. 391–400.
Dias M.I., Barros L., Sousa M.J., Ferraira C.F.R., 2012. Systematic comparison of nutraceuticals and antioxidant potential of cultivated, in vitro cultured and commercial Melissa officinalis samples. Food Chem. Toxicol. 50, 1866–1873.
Dikbas N., Bagc E., Kotan R., Cakmakci R., Ozer H., Mete E., Erdogan G., 2010. Comparative antibacterial activities and chemical composition of some plants oils against Salmonella enteritidis. Res. Crops 11 (1), 118–124.
Dogan S., Diken M.E., Dogan M., 2010. Antioxidant, phenolic and protein contents of some medicinal plants. J. Med. Plant. Res. 4 (23), 2566–2573.
Emamghoreishi M., Talebianpour M.S., 2009. Antidepressant effect of Melissa officinalis in the forced swimming test. DARU 17 (1), 42–47.
Gawlik-Dziki U., 2004. Fenolokwasy jako bioaktywne składniki żywności. Żywn. Nauka. Technol. Jakość 4 (41), 29–40.
Góra J., Lis A., 2004. Najcenniejsze olejki eteryczne. Wydaw. UMK, Toruń.
Hussain A.I., Anwar F., Iqbal T., Bhatti I.A., 2011. Antioxidant attributes of four Lamiaceae essential oils. Pak. J. Bot. 43 (2), 1315–1321.
Kato-Noguchi H., 2001. Effects of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) extract on germination and seedling growth of six plants. Acta Physiol. Plant. 23 (1), 49–53.
Khalid K.A., Hu W., Cai W., 2008. The effects of harvesting and different drying methods on the essential oil composition of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.). J. Essent. Oil Bear. Plants 11 (4), 342–349.
Khalid K.A., Cai W., Achmed A.M.A., 2009a. Effect of harvesting treatments and distillation methods on the essentials oil of lemon balm and apple geranium plants. J. Essent. Oil Bear. Plants 12 (2), 120–130.
Khalid K.A., Hu W., Cai W., Hussein M.S. 2009b. Influence of cutting and harvest day time on the essential oils of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.). J. Essent. Oil Bear. Plants 12 (3), 348–357.
Klimek B., Majda T., Góra J., Patora J., 2000. Badanie olejku eterycznego kocimiętki cytrynowej (Nepeta cataria L. var. citriodora) w porównaniu z olejkiem melisy lekarskiej (Melissa officinalis L.). Herba Pol. 46, 4, 226–234.
Koksal E., Bursal E., Dikici E., Tozoglu F., Gulcin I., 2011. Antioxidant activity of Melissa officinalis leaves. J. Med. Plant. Res. 5 (2), 217–222.
Marongiu B., Porcedda S., Piras A., Rosa A., Deiana M., Deski M.A., 2004. Antioxidant activity of supercritical extract of Melissa officinalis subsp. officinalis and Melissa officinalis subsp. indora. Phytother. Res. 18, 789–792.
Meftahizade H., Sargsyan E., Moradkhani H., 2010. Investigation of antioxidant capacity of Melissa officinalis L. essential oils. J. Med. Plant. Res. 4 (14), 1391–1395.
Mencherini T., Picerno P., Scesa C., Aquino R., 2007. Triterpene, antioxidant, and antimicrobial compounds from Melissa officinalis. J. Nat. Prod. 70, 1889–1894.
Miceli A., Negro C., Tommasi L., 2006. Essential oil of Melissa romana (Miller) grown in Southern Apulia (Italy). J. Essent. Oil Res. 18, 473–475.
Mimica-Dukic N., Bozin B., Sokolic M., Simin N., 2004. Antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Melissa officinalis L. (Lamiaceae) essential oil. J. Agric. Food Chem. 52 (9), 2485–2489.
Moqbeli E., Fathollahi S., Olfati J.-A., Peyvast G.-A., Hamidoqli Y., Bakhshi D., 2011. Investigation of soil condition on yield and essential oil in lemon balm. South West. J. Hortic. Biol. Environ. 2 (1), 87–93.
Moradkhani H., Sargsyan E., Bibak H., Naseri B., Sadat-Hosseini M., Fayazi-Barjin A., Meftahizade H., 2010. Melissa officinalis L., a valuable medicine plant: A review. J. Med. Plant. Res. 4 (25), 2753–2759.
Mrlianová M., Tekel'ova D., Felklová M., Reinohl V., Tóth J., 2002. The influence of the harvest cut height on the quality of the herbal drugs Melissae folium and Melissae herba. Planta Med. 68 (2), 178–180.
Oniga I., Vlase L., Toiu A., Benedec D., Duda M., 2010. Evaluation of phenolic acid derivatives and essential oil content in some Melissa officinalis L. varieties. Farmacia 58 (6), 764–769.
Ozturk A., Unlukara A., Ipek A., Gurbuz B., 2004. Effects of salt stress and water deficit on plant growth and essential oil content of lemon balm (Melisa officinalis L.). Pak. J. Bot. 36 (4), 787–792.
Özcan M.M., Ünver A., Ucar T., Arslan D., 2008. Mineral content of some herbs and herbal teas by infusion and decoction. Food Chem. 106, 1120–1127.
Patora J., Majda T., Góra J., Klimek B., 2003. Variability in the content and composition of essentials oil from lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) cultivated in Poland. Acta Pol. Pharm. 60 (5), 395–400.
Pereira R.P., Fachinetto R., Sousa Prestes A. de, Puntel R.L., Silva G.N.S. da, Heinzmann B.M., Boschetti T.K., Athayde M.L., Burger M.E., Morel A.F., Pino J.A. Rosado A., Fuentes V., 1999. Composition of the essential oil of Melissa officinalis L. from Cuba. J. Essent. Oil Res. 11 (3), 363–364.
Ponce A.G., Valle C.E. del, Roura S.I., 2004. Natural essential oils as reducing agents of peroxidase activity in leafy vegetables. Lebens. Wiss. – Technol. 37, 199–204.
Rostami H., Kazemi M., Shafiei S., 2012. Antibacterial activity of Lavandula officinalis and Melissa officinalis against some human pathogenic bacteria. Asian J. Biochem. 7 (3), 133–142.
Rumińska A., 1983. Rośliny lecznicze. PWN, Warszawa.
Saeb K., Gholamrezaee S., Asadi M., 2011. Variation of antioxidant activity of Melissa officinalis leaves extracts during the different stages of plant growth. Biomed. Pharmacol. J. 4 (2), 237–243.
Sari A.O., Ceylan A., 2002. Yield characteristics and essential oil composition of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) grown in the Aegean region of Turkey. Turk. J. Agric. For. 26, 217–224.
Schnitzler P., Schuhmacher A., Astani A., Reichling J., 2008. Melissa officinalis oil affects infectivity of enveloped herpesviruses. Phytomed 15 (9), 734–740.
Sharafzadeh S., Khosh-Khui M., Javidnia K., 2011a. Aroma profile of leaf and steam of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) grown under greenhouse conditions. Adv. Environ. Biol. 5 (4), 547–550.
Sharafzadeh S., Khosh-Khui M., Javidnia K., 2011b. Effect of nutrients on essential oil components, pigments and total phenolic content of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.). Adv. Environ. Biol. 5 (4), 639–646.
Silva S. da, Sato A., Salgueiro Lage C.L., Silva San Gil R.A. da, Almeida Azevedo D. de, Esquibel M.A., 2005 Essential oil composition of Melissa officinalis L. in vitro produced under the influence of grown regulators. J. Braz. Chem. Soc. 16 (6B), 1387–1390.
Sousa A.C. de, Gattass C.R., Alviano D.S., Blank A.F., Alves P.B., 2004. Melissa officinalis L. essential oil: antitumoral and antioxidant activities. J. Pharm. Pharmacol. 56 (5), 677–681.
Spiridon I., Colceru S., Anghel N., Teaca C.A., Bodirlau R., Armatu A., 2011. Antioxidant capacity and total phenolic contents of oregano (Origanum vulgare), lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) from Romania. Nat. Prod. Res. 25 (17), 1657–1661.
Stanojević D., Čomić L.J., Stefanović O., Solujić Sukdolak S., 2010. In vitro synergistic antibacterial activity of Melissa officinalis L. and some preservatives. Span. J. Agric. Res. 8 (1), 109–115.
Tóth J., Mrlianová M., Tekel’ová D, Koreňová M., 2003. Rosmarinic acid – an important phenolic active compound of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.). Acta Facult. Pharm. Univ. Comenianae 50 (1), 139–146.
Weitzel C., Petersen M., 2011. Cloning and characterization of rosmarinic acid synthase from Melissa officinalis L. Phytochemistry 72, 572–578.
RENATA NURZYŃSKA-WIERDAK
Katedra Warzywnictwa i Roślin Leczniczych, Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy w Lublinie, ul. St. Leszczyńskiego 58, 20-068 Lublin
Katedra Warzywnictwa i Roślin Leczniczych, Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy w Lublinie, ul. St. Leszczyńskiego 58, 20-068 Lublin
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