Melissa, Lemon Balm

Melissa, Balm

Lemon Balm; Mountain Balm, Sweet Balm
Melissophyllum, Apiastrum
Billilotan (Unani)

Della Materia Medicinale, Andrea Valuassori, 1562

Kurtzes Handtbuchlein, Ryff, 1599

Koehler’s Medizinal Pflanzen, 1887

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Classifications:

2H. CARMINATIVE. 
3A. SUDORIFICS & DIAPHORETICS.  3C. ALEXIPHARMICS.  3D. CORDIALS & CARDIACS.  3G. EMMENAGOGUE
4a. CEPHALIC.  4c. CARDIAC.  4e. STOMACHIC.  4i. UTERINE.  4k. ARTHRITIC

Uses:

1. Clears Wind-Heat, Resists Poison, Promotes Sweat:
-colds, flu, fever and catarrh (infusion with Lemon juice);
-resists all Poison, including infectious diseases; Mushroom poisoning
-Viral infections (inc. Herpes)
2. Clears Liver Heat, Stops Wind:
-good for the Head, Apoplexy, Epilepsy, Migraine, Paralysis, troublesome Sleep, Fainting, Melancholy etc.
-Liver Headache, Hypertension, Anger
-Hyperthyroidism
3. Moves Qi, Opens Obstructions:
-tension, anxiety, depression, sadness, pensiveness, phobias
-‘drives cares and troublesome thoughts out of the mind’
-PMS, Menopausal symptoms
4. Benefits the Heart, Calms the Mind and Spirit:
-Cordial, good for the Heart
-‘Much commended for Fainting and Beating of the Heart’ (Pechy)
-‘Strengthen the memory, sharpen the Wit, and make a man industrious’.
5. Benefits the Stomach, Promotes Digestion:
-‘Serapio affirmeth it to be comfortable for a moist and cold Stomach, to stir up concoction’. (Gerard)
-indigestion, flatulence, and dyspepsia, especially when related to anxiety
6. Moves the Qi, Regulates Menstruation:
-promotes menstruation when hindered by Constrained Qi (emotions), or Liver Heat;
-good for the Uterus, ‘crudities in Terms, after-burden stopped, in suffocation of the Womb’. (Schroder)
-Menopause and PMS
7. Promotes Longevity:
-Traditionally used to Promote Longevity; Paracelsus claimed it to retard old age
–London Dispensatory listed it to promote Longevity when taken every morning
-‘Renews Youthful Vigor, Strengthens the Brain, relieves Languishing Nature and prevents Baldness’.
-‘This is so fragrant and friendly, that it strengthens Nature in all its Faculties’. (A Compendius Herbal, John Archer, London, 1673)
8. Externally:
-Applied with salt to Cysts, Sores, Scrofula, hard Swellings and Kernels.
-traditionally applied to Gout
-juice made up with oil, or an ointment or poultice is good to be applied to fresh Wounds
-‘a most efficient remedy for the healing and sealing of Wounds’.
-decoction is gargled for Toothache.
-Cataplasm of Balm laid on a woman’s Breast was said to stop them growing
-the Oil made of the herb boiled is applied to cold pains including back ache
-in Baths for Uterine diseases
-Boils, Cysts, Nodes, Kernels, hard Swellings, especially of the Neck, beat the fresh herb to a paste with Niter and apply. (Salmon)
-applied to Scorpion bite
-chewed or applied to Toothache

Dose:

Powder: 500mg–3 grams
Infusion: 1 teaspoonful
Brief Decoction: 3–9 grams

Substitutes:

… available in PRO version

Main Combinations:

Balm & St. Johns wort
1. Strengthen the Heart, benefit Memory, comfort Nature and strengthens the whole Body, … available in PRO version
2. Pensiveness, Worry, Insomnia, and as an exhilarant, Lemon Balm with … available in PRO version
3. Nervousness, nervous Headaches, nervous Stomach, nervous Heart disorders, insomnia, Lemon Balm with … available in PRO version
4. Headache, Migraine, Lemon Balm with … available in PRO version
5. To restore youth, resist Old Age, benefit Memory, prevent Grey hair and relieve a languishing nature, Lemon Balm with … available in PRO version
6. Strengthen Memory:
i. Lemon Balm with … available in PRO version
7. Hyperacidity, Lemon Balm with … available in PRO version
8. Gastric Ulcers, Lemon Balm with … available in PRO version
9. Palpitations or Heart weakness, Lemon Balm with … available in PRO version
10. Syncope and to strengthen the Heart, Lemon Balm with … available in PRO version
11. Asthma, Breathlessness, decoct Lemon Balm with … available in PRO version
12. Insomnia, Lemon Balm with … available in PRO version
13. Hyperthyroidism, Lemon Balm with … available in PRO version
14. To promote menstruation, decoct Lemon Balm with … available in PRO version
15. To prevent Miscarriage, Lemon Balm with … available in PRO version
16. Melancholy:
i. Lemon Balm with … available in PRO version
ii. Lemon Balm with … available in PRO version
17. Madness, combined Lemon Balm with … available in PRO version
18. For young babies, to calm them, promote digestion, and relieve wind, Lemon Balm with … available in PRO version
19. Toothache, chew Lemon Balm with … available in PRO version
20. Joint pain, apply Lemon Balm with … available in PRO version

Major Formulas

Powder for Loss of Memory and Stupidity (Philon)
Betony Infusion Compound
Syrup of Balm (Fernelius)
Powder for Melancholy (Philon)
Powder to Strengthen the Heart (Wirtzung)