First Monographs Without Borders Collaboration
The American Herbal Pharmacopoeia® (AHP) is pleased to announce the release of a Monograph and Therapeutic Compendium for Lemon balm Leaf; Lemon Balm Aerial Parts (Melissa officinalis subsp. officinalis L.). This is the first of a series of publications planned in AHP’s Monographs Without Borders initiative and was a joint effort of AHP and researchers at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashad, Iran with special contributions by Dr. Mary Hardy of the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine, San Diego, CA. As with all AHP monographs, this was reviewed by a multidisciplinary cadre of experts representing traditional herbal medicine, botany, chemistry, pharmacognosy, pharmacology, and lemon balm cultivation and specifically included experts in Iran where Melissa is considered a very important herbal drug.
According to AHP President and monograph editor Roy Upton:
“Lemon balm is one of those underutilized and perhaps underappreciated botanicals. It has been used for relieving anxiety, digestive upset, nervous conditions, spasms, sleeplessness, headaches, among other uses, some of which have been forgotten or neglected, for several hundred years. Among these uses, its effects on reliving nervousness, anxiety, and the many conditions that follow these two reigns supreme in the traditional literature. In modern investigations, its topical use for relieving herpes outbreaks is well-established in human clinical trials.”
AHP’s monographs without borders is meant to facilitate scientific cooperation with researchers in countries with whom the US may otherwise have challenging relationships, in this case with Iran. Far from being political, Monographs Without Borders is meant to highlight that the use and love of plant medicines can serve to unite us all as they have done historically through ancient trade routes and medical development. The team of researchers from Mashad University developed a comprehensive review of lemon balm in 2017 (Shakeri et al.). They generously allowed us to build upon what they began into the AHP-style monograph.
The HPTLC method was developed by CAMAG, Switzerland. The HPLC methodology was developed by Dr. Anna Rita Bilia of the University of Florence, Italy and was developed for the European Pharmacopoeia, who generously allowed us to use it to promote international harmonization between standards setting organizations. The chromatograms were generated by Alkemists Labs, Garden Grove, CA, all of this reflecting a true spirit of collaboration internationally.
Development of the AHP Lemon Balm Monograph and Therapeutic Compendium was made possible by the generous contributions of:
- EuroPharma USA, Green Bay, WI
- Herb Pharm, Williams , OR
- Joanna Miller, Bonny Doon, CA
- Natreon Inc., New Brunswick, NJ
- Nature’s Way, Green Bay, WI
- Planetary Herbals, Scotts Valley, CA
- Traditional Medicinals, Sebastopol, CA
- Vitality Works, Albuquerque, NM
“This is wonderful, [Lemon balm Leaf Monograph] full of information, detailed and thorough monograph!!!! AHP has done themselves well and added to the bar height for monographs!!!!”
— Edward Fletcher Native Botanicals Banner Elk, North Carolina
“Another absolutely gorgeous Monograph! I could almost smell the fragrance from the Melissa leaves coming off the pictures [Lemon balm Leaf Monograph]. The scientific reviews will be super useful too as always. Congratulations!”
— Amala Soumyanath BPharm PhD Oregon Health Sciences University Portland, OR
The AHP Lemon balm Leaf; Lemon Balm Aerial Parts (Melissa officinalis subsp. officinalis L.) Monograph and Therapeutic Compendium (PDF) is available by ordering from the AHP Shop website >
For those wishing to buy copies in bulk for dissemination to customers or health practitioners, please contact us directly.
ABOUT AMERICAN HERBAL PHARMACOPOEIA
American Herbal Pharmacopoeia® (AHP) promotes the responsible use of herbal medicines and ensures they are used with the highest possible degree of efficacy and safety. Our primary way to accomplish this is through the development of standards of identity, purity, and analysis for botanicals, as well as to critically review traditional and scientific data regarding their efficacy and safety. These works will be disseminated through a variety of AHP publications such as monographs, textbooks, and other educational materials; workshops and conferences; electronic media, and other avenues of distribution as are appropriate.
AHP
PO Box 66809
Scotts Valley, CA 95067 (USA)
Tel: 831-461-6318 (direct); Fax: 831-438-2196
Email: ahp@herbal-ahp.org