Lemon Balm

There is no strong evidence that lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is an established treatment for bipolar disorder. Clinical research shows lemon balm may help anxiety, mild depression and sleep in some populations, and it has plausible neurochemical actions (GABAergic, antioxidant) — but trials are small, vary in dose/formulation, and none provide clear, robust proof that it treats bipolar disorder or prevents manic episodes. If you have bipolar disorder, do not stop or alter prescribed mood-stabilizers/antipsychotics; discuss any herbal use with your psychiatrist because herbs can interact with bipolar medications and—critically—anything with antidepressant activity can sometimes trigger mania or rapid cycling. BioMed Central

• GABAergic modulation (possible anxiolytic/sedative effect). Laboratory work shows lemon balm extracts (and components such as rosmarinic, ursolic and oleanolic acids) can inhibit GABA-transaminase (GABA-T) in vitro, which raises GABA availability and plausibly reduces anxiety/stress. This is one of the commonly proposed mechanisms for its calming effects. Miloa Academy
• Polyphenols (rosmarinic acid) with neuroactive effects. Rosmarinic acid and other polyphenols have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity and have been linked to improved stress markers in animals/humans. These could plausibly help anxiety and low-grade depressive symptoms. BioMed Central
• Acetylcholinesterase and cognitive effects (mixed). Some studies report weak acetylcholinesterase inhibition (possible cognitive effects), but findings are inconsistent. Examine

Important clinical point: those mechanisms can explain anxiolytic/sleep-helping effects — they do not establish efficacy for bipolar disorder, which involves episodic mania/hypomania and depression and typically requires mood stabilizers (lithium, valproate, atypical antipsychotics) supported by large RCTs. No high-quality trials demonstrate lemon balm prevents mania or stabilizes bipolar illness. BioMed Central

Clinical trials use a variety of preparations and doses. These are study examples (not medical prescriptions) — always discuss with your treating psychiatrist.

• Single-dose, acute anxiety/cognition pilot studies: single oral doses of 300 mg and 600 mg of standardized extract were used in crossover designs to test acute cognitive/anxiolytic effects. (Use: single doses, observed effects within 1–3 hours in some studies.) Academia
• Short-term anxiolytic studies: 600 mg/day (e.g., Cyracos standardized extract for ~15 days) or 500 mg/day for 14 days have been used in small anxiety trials. BioMed Central
• Depression trials (oral powders / extracts): one 8-week trial compared 2 g/day of lemon balm powder to fluoxetine (20 mg) in mild-to-moderate depression (this trial lacked a placebo arm). Another randomized trial in people with type-2 diabetes and depressive symptoms used 700 mg/day hydroalcoholic extract for 12 weeks and reported reductions in depression/anxiety scores. Other studies used 1,000–3,000 mg/day of powdered lemon balm in metabolic/other trials. BioMed Central
• Sleep studies / phytosome formulations: standardized extracts formulated for better bioavailability (phytosome) have been trialed (doses vary by product — see the specific trial). A 2024 Nutrients cross-over trial used a highly standardized phytosome formulation and reported improvements in sleep quality. MDPI

If you and your clinician decide to try a lemon-balm product, those study doses (300–700 mg/day for extracts; up to several grams/day for whole-leaf powders) show what has been tested — but products differ hugely in standardization (rosmarinic acid content etc.), so dose cannot be assumed equivalent between products. Always use a reliably labeled product and check with your medical team. BioMed Central

Systematic review & meta-analysis: “The effects of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) on depression and anxiety in clinical trials: A systematic review and meta-analysis” (Phytotherapy Research / institutional listings). This aggregates randomized trials to date and is useful to see overall signal and limitations. Bond University Research Portal

BMC Complementary Medicine & Therapies — randomized trial (2023): “The effects of Melissa officinalis on depression and anxiety in type 2 diabetes patients…” — 700 mg/day hydroalcoholic extract for 12 weeks reduced depression and anxiety scores vs control. (Open access full text.) BioMed Central

BMC Complementary Medicine & Therapies — depression trial (2020): 8-week randomized, double-blind trial comparing 2 g/day lemon balm powder vs 20 mg fluoxetine for mild-moderate depression (no placebo group; small sample). Useful but limited. BioMed Central

Pilot / acute studies: Various pilot crossover studies used 300–600 mg standardized extracts and reported acute anxiolytic and cognitive effects (see pilot study PDFs and academia sources). Academia

Mechanistic lab study: Bioassay-guided fractionation showing GABA-T inhibitory activity of lemon balm constituents (Awad et al., 2009 PDF). This gives a biochemical rationale for calming effects. Miloa Academy

Recent reviews / narrative summaries (2023–2024) summarizing safety, dosing and evidence for anxiety/depression/sleep: MDPI Nutrients review (2024) and other narrative reviews. These summarize clinical evidence and limitations. MDPI