Melissa - what is this plant?
Spices play an important role in human life. You cannot imagine various dishes without them. They help to improve mood, give a boost of vivacity. One of the most famous herbs containing essential oils is lemon balm.
Fragrant lemon balm looks very similar to mintso they are often confused. But plants differ in smell, composition of essential oils. The ancient Greeks knew the beneficial properties of the spicy herb, lemon balm. They gave the name to the plant. The word Melissa has two stems, which translate as bee and leaf. Indeed, the spice has a lot in the composition similar to bee honey. The plant has other names - lemon mint, bee, lemon grass, honey.
Content:
- Melissa - what is it, structural features
- Composition, useful properties of the plant
- Application in medicine, cosmetology, cooking
- Harm and contraindications in the use of lemon balm
- Growing, harvesting and storage of spicy herbs
Melissa - what is it, structural features
The herbaceous plant is a member of the Yasnotkov family. In a perennial, the stem growing upward has many branches. In height, the plant can be from thirty centimeters to one meter or more. On erect stems there are opposite leaves, similar in shape to an ellipse with denticles. The surface of their plate is slightly pubescent.
From June to August, small white or pink flowers appear on lemon balm.
Outwardly, they look like small bells. After the plant has faded, one-seeded brown nuts up to three millimeters in length can be found on it. They are planted in the ground for the reproduction of spicy herbs. Melissa is grown as a cultivated plant. In the wild, herbaceous culture is found in the southern regions of Europe and Asia.
Melissa officinalis is easy to grow in the garden. It is unpretentious to growing conditions, not afraid of drought. Grows well where there is a lot of light. The strong lemon-honey scent of the leaves of the plant is especially pleasant before it blooms. Melissa is an essential oil herb that has many beneficial properties. It is an excellent honey plant.
Composition, useful properties of the plant
Lemon balm leaves contain an essential oil, in the composition of which they have isolated:
- citral, an oily aldehyde with a characteristic odor lemon
- linalool, an alcohol related to terpenoids
- geraniol, odorless alcohol roses
- citronellol, an oily liquid with a pronounced floral aroma
- myrcene, natural monoterpene
- aldehydes
It is clear where the lemon balm essential oil has such a strong scent. The leaves of the plant contain tannins, acids, bitterness, mucus, sugars, mineral salts. It is not for nothing that lemon balm leaves are used in fresh and dry form for medicinal purposes.
Plant-based remedies help calm down during periods of nervous arousal. They restore normal sleep when it is disturbed. It is useful to drink lemon balm infusions for those whose heart rhythm is disturbed, blood pressure jumps. Herbal preparations are beneficial in improving the digestive functions of the stomach.
Among the useful actions of lemon mint are diaphoretic, diuretic, choleretic, antispasmodic.
Lemon balm is useful for elderly people, improving their well-being, raising vitality. The researchers note that those who consume lemon balm tea have increased performance, better brain function. For women, herbal preparations relieve pain during menstruation. Rinsing the mouth with a decoction of lemon balm will soothe a toothache, eliminate bad breath. The plant has many useful properties, they are successfully used for medicinal purposes.
Application in medicine, cosmetology, cooking
In folk medicine, there are many recipes with lemon balm:
- Most often, the leaves of the spicy herb are insisted and drunk in a glass of the drink as a sedative before bedtime. To prepare the drug, three teaspoons of raw materials are poured with a glass of boiling water, left for fifteen minutes - and the medicine is ready.
- For pain in the stomach, take an alcoholic tincture of the herb. It is prepared from five tablespoons of dried leaves and half a liter of vodka. The drug will be ready after fourteen days. Take a tablespoon of tincture twenty minutes before meals three times a day. After treatment, heartburn, belching disappear, gas formation decreases.
- Melissa tea is prepared by taking three teaspoons of dry or fresh leaves and pouring 250 milliliters of boiling water over them. But it is necessary for the drink to be darker than ordinary tea. Only in this case will he remove the strong nervous excitement from the patient. For treatment, they drink three glasses of tea a day. You can add a spoonful of honey to the sedative. In this case, the tea will have a strong hypnotic effect.
- Gruel prepared from fresh leaves of the plant is used externally. It is applied to the sites of bruises, ulcers. After such compresses, the pain subsides, the affected areas heal faster.
- Baths with the addition of plant oil help to normalize the condition of a patient with asthma and migraine. Up to two to three drops of an oily liquid are added to warm water. Melissa oil goes well with lemon and bergamot oil. Together they work great on human skin, soothe well.
In addition to the therapeutic effect, lemon balm has a beneficial effect on human skin, making it youthful and elastic. A cosmetic lotion is prepared from lemon balm leaves, peppermint, chamomile inflorescences, taken one tablespoon at a time. They are poured with a liter of dry white wine, adding twenty grams of acetylsalicylic acid. Insist on the remedy for two weeks. After straining with lotion, rub the face daily.
Another of the cosmetological properties of lemon grass is the regulation of the sebaceous glands.
Therefore, rubbing the skin of the face with water and lemon balm oil effectively fight against acne and acne. To get rid of the oily scalp, you can add a few drops of lemon grass essential oil to the shampoo. For rinsing hair, use lemon balm infusion, which is added to water. If you take care of your scalp regularly in this way, your hair will become shiny and silky.
The spice is successfully used in cooking, adding fresh to salads, sauces, soups. Dried herb serves as an excellent seasoning for meat and fish. It gives an original taste to wines and liqueurs. Since the smell of lemon disappears after cooking lemon balm, it is better to add it to ready-made dishes. Melissa has been used for a long time, it was appreciated by doctors and culinary specialists in Greece and the Arab states.
Harm and contraindications in the use of lemon balm
The herb is contraindicated for those who suffer from low blood pressure. Persons who constantly drink lemon balm tea cannot drive vehicles. Therefore, when treating with herbal remedies, it is necessary to refrain from activities that require concentration.
An overdose of products based on lemon balm, its essential oil leads to nausea, vomiting, and is characterized by other side effects from the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, lemon balm infusion can cause increased drowsiness, headache, and fatigue.
The herb is also dangerous for allergy sufferers if they have an intolerance to the components of the essential oil of the plant.
Drinking lemon balm tea for pregnant women is harmful, as it can lead to premature birth, miscarriage. Before self-medicating with a spicy plant, you need to consult with a specialist.
Growing, harvesting and storage of spicy herbs
Growing lemon balm in a summer cottage is a pleasure. For her, it is important that the air temperature is not lower than twenty degrees Celsius, sunlight, timely watering... The seeds of the plant, after ripening, fall to the ground, and the lemongrass continues to grow the next year. But in one place, the plant can develop well for five years. Then it is better to sow it in another area.
It is necessary to collect useful lemon balm leaves before the flowering period.
Then the amount of essential oil in them is the greatest. The plant also loses its use in rainy weather, therefore, warm, sunny days are needed for harvesting. The collected leaves are laid out under a canopy or in a closed, but well-ventilated area. Leaving the harvested plant material in the sun is not recommended - the grass will lose its value.
After complete drying, the leaves are placed in linen bags or laid out in clean glass jars, covered tightly with a lid. The plant retains its benefits for three years from the time of collection.
More information can be found in the video: