Description.
Melissa is a representative of the family of labial flowers, a herbaceous perennial plant with a straight, branchy stem of tetrahedral cross section, can reach a height of more than 1 m. Leaves are descended, ovate, petiolate, with a jagged margin. Rhizome strongly branched. Flowers on short pedicels are collected in 3-10 pieces and are located in the sinuses of the upper leaves. The corolla of the flower is whitish in color or pinkish with a red spot. Fruits - nuts ovoid, shiny, black. The period of flowering of lemon balm is all summer, the time of fruit ripening is the end of summer or the beginning of autumn.
The balm grows on forest edges, in weedy places, in thickets of bushes. Distributed in the southern regions of the European part of Russia, in Eastern and Southern Europe, in the Crimea, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Melissa has long been cultivated as an excellent honey, it was called "roevnik" for attracting bees with its aroma. Propagate the melissa with seeds, planting in the soil (but they are not distinguished by high germination), by means of stem removal or seedlings. The tops of the plant (leaves and flowers) are harvested as medicinal raw materials.
Composition of the plant.
Melissa leaves are rich in ascorbic acid, carotene (from which vitamin A is formed), they contain bitterness, a lot of copper, essential oil with lemon aroma, organic acids (ursolic, coffee, olean), tannins. Melissa fruits are high in fatty oil.
Melissa essential oil has a remarkable lemon flavor, it contains a number of active substances that affect the physiological processes in the body. For the production of essential oil, freshly picked up aboveground parts of the plant are processed.
Healing properties.
Oil has a calming effect on the body, as well as antimicrobial properties. Medicines based on lemon balm normalize metabolic processes, reduce heart rate and blood pressure, slow breathing, increase immunity. Medicinal balm leaves have analgesic, spasmolytic (relieve spasm of the muscles of internal organs and blood vessels), anticonvulsant, diuretic and diaphoretic action; they are used as a cardiovascular, anti-catarrhal, as well as an appetite-improving agent.
What use in medicine have found the medicinal properties of lemon balm.
In a number of diseases, funds are used based on lemon balm for oral administration:
- with a general decline in strength - as a general strengthening;
- with reduced appetite - as a means to improve appetite;
- with obesity - a tool that normalizes the metabolism;
- for colds - as a means to improve immunity, diaphoretic and antimicrobial;
- with functional disorders of the nervous system, developed as a result of neuropsychic overloads and stresses (migraines, neuroses, insomnia, depression, dizziness, increased sexual excitability) - as a remedy with soothing effect;
- in diseases of the biliary tract (including cholelithiasis) - both antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory;
- with various diseases of the cardiovascular system (including atherosclerosis and hypertension) - as a soothing, cardiovascular remedy, as well as for lowering blood pressure;
- with flatulence (bloating), constipation, pain in the stomach and intestines - as a laxative, spasmolytic, painkiller;
- when the menstrual cycle is disturbed - as a calming and means for regulating the cycle;
- when lactation - to stimulate the production of milk.
External applications of lemon balm in the form of decoctions and infusions:
- rinsing with toothache and inflammation of the gums,
- treatment of purulent wounds, boils, pustular rash,
- for a good sleep and removal of increased excitability take a bath with the addition of melissa infusion.
Recipes for preparation of medicines from lemon balm.
Here are some recipes for preparing medicines based on lemon balm.
To make an infusion of flowers and melissa leaves (for ingestion) , take 1 tablespoon of crushed dry raw material, pour 2 cups of boiling water, let it brew for 30 minutes, then strain and take 30 minutes before eating for ½ cup four times during day.
For the baths prepare a decoction of flowers and leaves of lemon balm and other plants . Take the enamelware, pour 10 liters of cold water, add 1 tablespoon of lemon balm, oregano, peppermint, wormwood, pine buds, yarrow and rhizome of calamus, boil the mixture for 30 minutes on low heat, then cool and add to a bath with warm water. It is recommended to take a bath no longer than fifteen to twenty minutes.
Melissa, or lemon mint is a wonderful herbal remedy for your home medicine chest, which you can take yourself.