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Lemon balm

Supplement botanical sleepbrain & mood
Aka: Melissa officinalis
Brands seen in Singapore: California Gold Nutrition, Swanson Vitamins, Herb Pharm, Nature's Way, Frontier Co-op
Not medical advice. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change the timing of anything you take.
How to use
What it’s for
Sold for calm and sleep · human evidence is limited
Pros & cons
Pros
  • 2021 meta-analysis: lower anxiety scores vs placebo
  • That review reported no serious side effects
  • A 2026 trial: better hard executive-function trials
Cons
  • That meta-analysis had high heterogeneity
  • The 2025 sleep review is narrative, not pooled
  • 2025 review: sleep trials include combination products
Sources
  1. The effects of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) on depression and anxiety in clinical trials: a systematic review and meta-analysis (Ghazizadeh J et al.; Phytotherapy Research 2021; PMID 34449930) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “lemon balm significantly improved mean anxiety and depression scores compared with the placebo (SMD: -0.98 …) … without serious side effects … Due to the high level of heterogeneity between studies, results should be interpreted with caution.”
  2. Unraveling the Effects of Melissa officinalis L. on Cognition and Sleep Quality: A Narrative Review (Oliveira MVB et al.; Int J Mol Sci 2025; PMID 41226605) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “a combination of lemon balm and valerian significantly improved sleep quality in postmenopausal women … lemon balm has the potential to improve cognition and sleep quality; however, robust evidence is needed, as more rigorous trials are required.”
  3. Acute effects of a Melissa officinalis L. extract on mood and cognitive performance during cognitive overload (Mathews I et al.; Ther Adv Psychopharmacol 2026; PMID 41782777) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “106 young healthy adults … 300 mg … For the primary outcome, no changes in overall calmness emerged. Zensera™ elicited improved performance on the hardest executive function trials at 5 h”
  4. Salivary cortisol dynamics with a phospholipid-based Melissa officinalis supplement, secondary analysis in a subpopulation (Mazzola G et al.; Food Nutr Res 2026; PMID 42232738) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “This secondary analysis evaluated a predefined subgroup (n = 12) receiving 400 mg/day of Melissa phospholipids for 3 weeks … provides preliminary evidence”
  5. HSA — Guidelines on Prohibited and Restricted Ingredients in Health Supplements and Traditional Medicines (Oct 2025), Annex A (118 rows, Abrus to Zinc) and Annex B (4 rows) — both searched, no row for this ingredient · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “The objective of this guideline is to highlight the substances of concern when used in HS and TM and is not meant to be an exhaustive list.”
  6. HSA Singapore — Health Supplements Guidelines (January 2026), clause 4.8 and Tables 4–5 (vitamins and minerals only) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “HS for use by the general adult population should not contain vitamins and minerals exceeding the stipulated limits stated in Tables 4 and 5.”
  7. iHerb Singapore — Supplements > Herbs > Lemon Balm (Melissa) category page, default order (1 - 28 of 28 results); first 5 distinct brands: California Gold Nutrition, Swanson Vitamins, Herb Pharm, Nature's Way, Frontier Co-op · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “California Gold Nutrition, EuroHerbs™, Lemon Balm Extract … Swanson Vitamins, Full Spectrum®, Lemon Balm, 500 mg … Herb Pharm, Lemon Balm, Alcohol-Free … Nature's Way, Melissa Lemon Balm Leaf … Frontier Co-op, Organic Cut & Sifted Lemon Balm Leaf”
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Updated 2026-08-29. Every line above traces to a numbered source. Kozen-X is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. It lists what published sources have written down — nothing more. A pair not listed is unrecorded, not cleared. Before you start, stop or re-time anything, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.