Lemon balm

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Lemon balm
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), illustration

Lemon balm ( Melissa officinalis ), illustration

Systematics
Family : Mint family (Lamiaceae)
Subfamily : Nepetoideae
Tribe : Mentheae
Sub tribus : Salviinae
Genre : Melissa ( Melissa )
Type : Lemon balm
Scientific name
Melissa officinalis
L.

The lemon balm or lemon balm ( Melissa officinalis ) is a plant from the genus of balm ( Melissa ) within the family of Labiatae (Lamiaceae). It comes from the eastern Mediterranean . The leaves (Melissae folium) are used as a pharmaceutical drug . It was named Medicinal Plant of the Year 1988.

description

Opposite, simple leaves
Section of an inflorescence

Vegetative characteristics

The lemon balm is a perennial, herbaceous plant that can live for 25 to 30 years and grows to heights of 20 to 90, rarely 120 centimeters. It forms a rhizome from which short, underground runners emerge. It smells more or less strongly of lemons .

The hair is usually sparse, the plants can also be almost bare ( indument ). The independently upright to ascending stems are branched and covered with 0.5 millimeter long glandular hairs and 1 to 2 millimeter long, protruding glandeless hairs.

The opposite arranged leaves are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade. The petiole is 1.5 to 3.5 inches long. The simple leaf blade is 2 to 6, rarely 9 centimeters and a width of 1.5 to 5, rarely 7 centimeters wide, ovate to rhombic or elongated with a truncated or wedge-shaped base and a blunt or pointed upper end. The leaf margin is roughly and fairly regularly serrated.

Inflorescence, flower and fruit

Single flower

The flowering period extends from June to August. Three to seven flowers stand together in half whorls in the axils of the upper leaves. The flower stalk is 2 to 6 millimeters long. The prophylls are 2 to 5 millimeters long, entire and ovate-lanceolate.

The hermaphrodite flowers are zygomorphic and five-fold with a double flower envelope . The 7 to 9 millimeter long calyx is covered with protruding soft hair and short glandular hairs and has two lips. Its upper lip has small teeth, the lower lip lanceolate, triangular, aurled teeth. The crown is 8 to 15 millimeters long, at the beginning of the anthesis pale yellow, later white to reddish.

The Klausen are 1.5 to 2 millimeters long, chestnut brown and slimy when they get wet. They can germinate for 2 to 3 years. The thousand grain weight is 0.6 g.

Chromosome set

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 32.

Male Bombus argillaceus the flowers visit

ecology

The flowers carry nectar . The pollination takes place mainly by Apis mellifera and Bombus species. The flowers are proterandric to homogamous.

ingredients

Lemon balm leaves contain 4 to 7% hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, above all rosmarinic acid (the so-called labiate tanning agents), but also chlorogenic acid , caffeic acid and essential oil are 0.05 to 0.3%, in cultivated varieties up to 0.8%. The most important components are citral (with 40 to 70%, as a mixture of geranial and neral ), citronellal (1 to 20%) and β-caryophyllene (5 to 15%). Other ingredients are linalool , geraniol , caryophyllene epoxide , germacrene D, methylcitronellal , 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one , geranyl acetate , α-copaene and nerol . The composition of the essential oil depends on the origin and climatic conditions, the time of harvest and the age of the plant. It also contains bitter substances , resin, mucilage, glycosides , saponins and thymol . The vitamin C content of the fresh plant per 100 grams of fresh weight is 253.0 milligrams.

Origin of name

The generic name Melissa of the plant described for the first time in the herbal book of Pedanios Dioskurides and in the Naturalis Historia by Pliny the Elder as melissophyllon is derived from the Greek meliteion = lemon balm , which is related to meli = honey (genitive melitos ). It refers to its use as a bee pasture . The specific epithet officinalis means officinal, used as a medicine .

Occurrence

Lemon balm is native to the eastern Mediterranean and western Asia . The natural area ranges from Anatolia to the Caucasus , Iraq and Iran to Pakistan . It occurs in companies of the Orno-Ostryon Association.

It is cultivated in temperate and warm areas around the world and is regularly wild. In Central Europe, it occurs in the wild, mainly on forest cuts and on forest roads. It prefers to grow in nutrient-rich, warm and dry locations with humus-rich, sandy loam or loamy sand soils .

Melissa officinalis subsp. inodora

Systematics

The first publication of Melissa officinalis was in 1753 by Carl von Linné .

Of Melissa officinalis , there are about two subspecies:

  • Melissa officinalis subsp. inodora Bornm. (Syn .: Melissa inodora Bornm. Non Hassk. ): It occurs from the eastern Mediterranean to northern Iraq.
  • Melissa officinalis L. subsp. officinalis : It is native to north-west Africa and southern Europe to Central Asia.

Cultivation

For targeted use, lemon balm is grown as a two to three year culture. Cultivation is done either by planting young plants grown in March in May or September or by sowing on the spot in May, since temperatures of around 20 ° C are usually required for germination. Propagation by cuttings is possible. The lemon balm can be harvested three to four times a year shortly before flowering, for example by mowing with a bar mower or a harvester. A leaf mass of 15 to 30 tons can be harvested per hectare of cultivated area.

use

Lemon balm is grown as a spice or medicinal plant and as a bee pasture . The leaves are used as a kitchen spice. Extracts from the leaves are processed into herbal liqueurs. Lemon balm is used to flavor cold drinks, salads and sauces as well as compotes . Tea and wine can be made from it. Melissa tea is said to have a calming effect and to aid digestion. Lemon balm is most aromatic before flowering.

The leaves (Melissae folium) are used as a drug . The traditional use is to support stomach function and for nervous stress. Preparations such as tea infusions , liquid or dry extracts from lemon balm have a calming and antispasmodic effect . They are used for sleep disorders and gastrointestinal complaints. They are often used in tea blends with other sedative drugs. Baths are used for inflammation of the skin and genital organs, but also as relaxation baths. Further areas of application are biliary disorders and hypertonic dyskinesia .

Due to the content of phenol carboxylic acid derivatives, especially rosmarinic acid , lemon balm leaves have an anti- microbial and anti- viral effect. This is used in ointments to treat herpes simplex . In folk medicine, lemon balm is also used against colds and poor circulation. Due to its high price (around 6,000 euros per kg), pure lemon balm oil is rarely available in stores; it is mostly substitute oils such as citronella oil, lemongrass oil or adulterations (Indian balm oil ).

As so-called monastery balm, it is added to the high percentage (79% alcohol by volume ) monastery woman melissa spirit .

See also

literature

  • Klaus-Ulrich Heyland, Herbert Hanus, Ernst Robert Keller: Oil fruits, fiber plants, medicinal plants and special crops (= manual of plant cultivation. Volume 4). Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-8001-3203-6 , pp. 460-465.
  • Thomas Richter: Melissa officinalis L .: A leitmotif for 2000 years of scientific history. (Dissertation Würzburg 1997) Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 1998 (= Würzburg medical-historical research , 64), 448 pages, ISBN 3-8260-1645-9 .
  • Avril Rodway: Herbs and Spices. The most useful plants in nature - culture and use. Tessloff, Hamburg 1980, ISBN 3-7886-9910-8 .
  • Siegmund Seybold (Ed.): Schmeil-Fitschen interactive . CD-ROM, version 1.1. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2002, ISBN 3-494-01327-6 .
  • Elisabeth Stahl-Biskup. Melissa . In: Rudolf Hänsel , K. Keller, H. Rimpler and G. Schneider (Eds.) Hager's Handbook of Pharmaceutical Practice . 5th edition, Springer Volume 5 Drugs EO Berlin etc. 1993 ISBN 3-540-52638-2 , pp. 810-821
  • Max Wichtl (Ed.): Tea drugs and phytopharmaceuticals. 4th edition. Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Stuttgart, 2002, ISBN 3-8047-1854-X , pp. 382-386. (Ingredients, use)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Klaus-Ulrich Heyland (editor): Special plant cultivation. 7th edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1952/1996, ISBN 3-8001-1080-6 , p. 321.
  2. ^ Thomas Richter: Melissa officinalis L .: A leitmotif for 2000 years of scientific history. (Dissertation Würzburg 1997) Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 1998 (= Würzburg medical-historical research , 64), 448 pages, ISBN 3-8260-1645-9 , pp. 24-28.
  3. ^ Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas . With the collaboration of Angelika Schwabe and Theo Müller. 8th, heavily revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 , pp. 810 .
  4. ^ Manfred A. Fischer, Karl Oswald, Wolfgang Adler: Excursion flora for Austria, Liechtenstein and South Tyrol . 3rd, improved edition. State of Upper Austria, Biology Center of the Upper Austrian State Museums, Linz 2008, ISBN 978-3-85474-187-9 .
  5. ↑ a b c Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Melissa officinalis. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  6. ↑ a b c Max Wichtl (Ed.): Tea drugs and phytopharmaceuticals. 4th edition. Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Stuttgart, 2002, ISBN 3-8047-1854-X , pp. 382-386.
  7. ↑ Klaus-Ulrich Heyland, Herbert Hanus, Ernst Robert Keller: Oil fruits, fiber plants, medicinal plants and special crops (= manual of plant cultivation. Volume 4). Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-8001-3203-6 , p. 461.
  8. ↑ Suspected surreptitious advertising ARD fires health guru Bankhofer , at stern.de , July 24, 2008.
  9. ↑ [1]

Web links

Commons : Lemon Balm ( Melissa officinalis )  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files