Melissa

Melissa oflcinalis.

Melissa is one of the most famous spicy aromatic and medicinal plants. It is also called by the melissa lemon, bee mint, honey, mother liquor, rostnik, honey bee, honey color. It is familiar to people since ancient times. It, for example, was cultivated by ancient Romans in perfumery and medical purposes.

This plant perfectly feels in our flower gardens and gardens next to parsley and dill. Meanwhile, she is not from the north and not from the middle of Russia. This is a southern guest, her real home is the Eastern Mediterranean, the Balkans, Iran. It is found in the wild in the Caucasus, in the Crimea, Central Asia, in the south of the European part of Russia. In any region, it develops very quickly and often begins to be infected. He loves forest edges, moist shady gorges, settles even in weedy places. Today it is common both as a cultural and as a wild plant throughout Europe and North America.

This hardy plant with a pleasant lemon scent was spread in the kitchen gardens where spices were grown. Melissa loves an open illuminated place, it can be sown and multiplied by dividing the bush. As a spice and for medicinal purposes, leaves and stems collected before flowering or at the beginning of it in July and August are used. Harvest can be obtained 2-3 times a year. The collection is carried out in the afternoon. Dry plants should be fast, thin layers in the shade in the draft. More than 1 year can not be stored. Melissa contains a lot of essential oil, tannins, mucus and tar. In its properties, lemon balm is similar to chamomile. Melissa infusion causes appetite, acts against flatulence, seizures, migraines and neuroses. It is good to drink tea from melissa( 2-3 teaspoons per cup of tea) before going to bed. It soothes and moderately reduces blood pressure. It can be taken with colds. Melissa is a part of tea mixtures and medicines( Alvisan, Passit, Valopit, Children's Tea with Chamomile, etc.).In cosmetics it is used as a means for baths, it is a part of masks and toilet water for oily skin of the face, shampoos for oily hair. According to some, its pleasant smell moderates headaches. In cooking, its lemon smell is used to flavor the food, and in folk medicine, a beneficial effect on digestion is taken into account. In cooking it is better to use fresh leaves in salads, soups, sauces, croissants, drinks, in rice( instead of parsley), for flavoring vinegar, cooking meat, in additives to butter, yoghurt, curd pastes.

Melissa officinalis is a perennial herbaceous plant. It can reach a height of 0.5-1 m. Rhizome is branched;stalk erect, tetrahedral, strongly branched, with slightly pubescent apex. The lower lateral shoots are creeping. Melissa leaves are opposite, petiolate, elongated 3-5 cm long, roundish, larger ovoid. They have rough streaks, along the edges of a notch. The upper surface of the leaves, like the stem, is covered with thin villi, the lower one - slightly pubescent. The flowers are small, white, yellowish or pinkish, located in the sinuses of the upper leaves. The time of flowering melissa - from the end of June to the end of August, in the southern regions - to November. A flowering plant is always surrounded by a whole cloud of bees. No wonder the generic name of the plant comes from the Greek "melissa" - a bee, and the Latin name translates as "bee star".Fruit - four light-brown hazelnuts, melissa fruits small and firm.

The shape and pubescence of the leaves of lemon balm is similar to the deaf nettle. But to distinguish it from other plants will not be difficult. Melissa can be unmistakably found on a specific flavor. The whole bush and especially the leaves smell of lemon( hence the name "mint lemon").Especially pleasant is its scent before flowering, then it becomes thicker and heavier. The special smell of melissa is due to the high concentration of essential oils - this is a characteristic feature of the entire family of labial flowers. Other members of this botanical family, such as peppermint, rosemary, sage, lavender, thyme, also have the strongest aroma, which is difficult to confuse with any other.

In the people, melissa was often given other names that pointed to its therapeutic effect: hearty herb, "consolation of the heart" - because of its soothing effect;female grass, as it was used in case of menses disorders, complaints during pregnancy and hysterical fits.

The height of this perennial melliferous plant ranges from 30 to 80 cm. Melissa's native land - the Mediterranean, from Italy to Syria and Iran, to Europe, as a spice and medicinal plant, was brought by Arabs, ancient Greeks and Romans. At first it was grown in monastery gardens, today it is cultivated in vegetable gardens, it can be grown on balconies. Melissa has many local names, the most common of which are lemon balm, lemon peppermint, honey beet, motherwort, and honey bee. These names reflect some of the most famous properties of the plant - lemon aroma, which leaves, inflorescences and young stems, as well as high melliferous culture. Beekeepers melissa rub the hives to attract bees.

Description: the branchy stem is densely covered with petiolate, opposite, ovate large leaflike leaves. Pale blue or light yellow flowers grow half-swept from the sinuses of the leaves. Blooms in July and August. Fruits are nuts.

Distributed in the Caucasus, in the southern regions of the European part of Russia and Central Asia. It grows among thickets, bushes and along forest edges.

Medicinal raw materials are grass - the leaves and tops of shoots, collected at the beginning of flowering. The smell of fresh raw lemon. Drying in the shade in the air or in the dryer.

In the grass of lemon balm found essential oil containing citral, citronellal, myrcene and geraniol, ascorbic, caffeine, oleanolic and ureolic acid, tannins. In the seeds of the plant contains fatty oil.

Melissa essential oil is low in toxicity and has a sedative effect. There are data on the beneficial effect of melissa preparations on patients with heart disease: dyspnea disappears, tachycardia attacks cease, pains in the heart area are removed. When ingesting, slowing of breathing, a decrease in the rhythm of heartbeats and a drop in blood pressure are observed.

Recommended for nervous weakness, migraine, insomnia, increased sexual excitability, painful menstruation, skin rashes.

In folk medicine, lemon balm is successfully used as a calming heart pain, stimulating the central nervous system, anticonvulsant, with dizziness, severe stomach pains, poor digestion, fainting and hysterical fits, various neuralgia, insomnia, anemia, dyspnea, asthma, painful menstruation, female diseases, as a laxative and diaphoretic.

In addition, lemon balm has a beneficial effect on the stomach, the brain, especially with nerve spasms, dizziness and tinnitus. Oil from melissa is used for palpitation, rheumatism, pain in the heart area, as a diaphoretic remedy, used inside( no more than 15 drops).

Melissa is recommended by mouth and as a carminative, laxative, diuretic, with stomach neuroses and vomiting in pregnant women.

From fresh flowers, tea is prepared which is drunk cold as a refreshing drink; it is also given in a hot form as a diaphoretic, improving metabolism, with dizziness and with a delay in menstruation.

We do not have our own localized varieties of lemon balm, so we cultivate varieties of foreign breeding - Quedlinburgsia and Erfurt.

The chemical composition and medicinal properties of balm

The curative properties of lemon balm are the result of a high content of essential oil in its green mass. This biologically active complex is a very complex substance;among the main components - citronellal, geraniol, citral, linalool. In addition, tannins, bitterness, organic acids, flavonoids, mucus and resins, as well as vitamin A( carotene) and vitamin C are found in lemon mint leaves.

Bitterness and other compounds that make up lemon balm( nitrogen and oxygen) causesalivation, increase the secretion of gastric juice, excite appetite, have a therapeutic effect in flatulence. Accordingly, these substances find their application in the treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

The content of essential oil in leaves and inflorescences of lemon balm is 0.06-0.08% on average in our conditions, and 0.12-0.14% in the deduced forms, the maximum amount of which is in the initial stage of flowering. In its leaves - about 5% of condensed tannins, coffee, oleanolic and ursolic acids, and in seeds - up to 20% of fatty oils.

Actually this plant with a unique aroma is a whole natural pharmacy. It not only calms, but also strengthens the nervous system, relieves pain in the heart and shortness of breath, lowers blood pressure, eliminates spasms in the stomach and intestines;Like peppermint, it helps with nausea and bloating. Melissa essential oil can still relieve pain and cramps. Due to this quality the plant is widely used as an antispasmodic, analgesic for pain of various localization and origin. Effective drugs with melissa for biliary and renal colic, painful menstruation, toothache.

Melissa essential oil, like other ether oils, has a liquid consistency. If it is slightly heated, it evaporates easily. That is why when harvesting leaves of aromatic plants can not be dried at high temperature. However, rapid volatility has its advantages: essential oils are great for inhalation. When inhaled, they easily penetrate into the upper respiratory tract, bronchi and lungs and fully manifest their disinfecting, bactericidal and anti-inflammatory properties there.

Thanks tannins, which are many in melissa, it has an excellent anti-inflammatory effect for inflammation and swelling of tissues.

Melissa herbs treat furunculosis, skin rashes, inflammation of the gums and oral cavity.

Infusions of herbs are indispensable for restoring normal health, emotional balance with neuroses, insomnia, helping to cope with such a difficultly amenable disease as migraines. They ease the condition of those suffering from bronchial asthma, help with shortness of breath associated with cardiac and pulmonary insufficiency. They use melissa as a common restorative after colds and infectious diseases. Due to the toning effect, lemon balm is good for use in the cold season, as it mobilizes the defenses of the body.

Freshly brewed lemon balm is made from tea. In a cold form, it is drunk as a refreshing and soothing drink, in hot - as a diaphoretic. It will improve metabolism and reduce dizziness. If you mix the grass of melissa with other ethereal herbs, we will get an excellent remedy for soothing aromatic baths and for the treatment of allergic dermatitis. In Lithuania, melissa grass mixed with marjoram is still used as a remedy for memory.

Side effect in the treatment of means with melissa is not revealed.

Cultivation: balm is demanding to heat. Seeds germinate at 10-12 ° C, the optimum temperature for germination is 20-25 ° C.Melissa is a light-loving plant. With shading in the leaves, the content of essential oil decreases, and the plant becomes less aromatic.

Although melissa is unpretentious to soils, it grows better on light structural, rather fertile, slightly acidic, closer to neutral soils. To increase soil fertility and fertilizing responsive. Propagated by seeds, planted in the soil and through seedlings, vegetative reproduction is carried out by division. To grow lemon balm it is better to choose a place protected from cold winds, not low, otherwise melissa will not be able to winter well. Since autumn, the soil has been dug to a depth of 22-27 cm and up to 3 kg / m2 of manure, compost or other organic fertilizers, and sand is added on heavy loams. When spring planting, mineral fertilizers should be better applied for spring processing of the soil. In autumn it is possible to plant rhizomes of melissa to a depth of 8-10 cm with a row spacing of 45 cm. Perekopku spend a month before planting rhizomes, and 3-5 days before planting make pre-plant loosening to a depth of 12-15 cm.the second decade of October. Sowing seeds, planting seedlings, as well as dividing the bush and planting its parts are carried out in the spring. This is the best time for the reproduction of lemon balm in the middle band. Seeds are sown early in the interval with rows between 45-60 cm to a depth of 0.5 cm.

Because of the slow development of lemon balm and cold spring in the middle belt, and in the northern regions it is especially advantageous to propagate lemon balm through seedlings or by dividing the bush. Seedlings of melissa are grown in the same way as seedlings of basil. Plant it in the ground after the last threat of late frosts passes, according to the scheme of 45-60 x 20-30 cm. Care consists in weeding, loosening the soil and watering the plantings as needed.

Agrotechnics of cultivation. Site selection. Melissa grows well on slightly elevated areas, well-lit and protected from cold northern winds. The most favorable for her are slightly loamy, friable soils. Since melissa is a perennial plant, it is recommended to cultivate it on the pre-regions where it can grow for eight years. The best predecessors are fertilized steam and row crops, which go after soil fertilization.

Soil tillage is carried out according to the system of autumn plowing to a depth of 27-30 cm. In early spring the soil is harrowed, and in due course plowed to a depth of 12-15 cm and carefully harrowed.

Application of fertilizers. Organic and mineral fertilizers are applied together( under autumn plowing) at a rate of 15-20 t / ha of compost, 2-3 c / ha of superphosphate, 1.5-2.0 c / ha of ammonium sulfate and 0.8-1.0q / ha potassium salt.

Reproduction of .Melissa is propagated in various ways: by sowing seeds directly into the soil, growing seedlings, dividing shrubs into parts, planting stems and green cuttings( young cuttings).With seed germination of 60%( usually the melissa seeds have reduced germination capacity), the seeding rate is 8-10 kg / ha, and the seeding depth is 1-2 cm. The sowing should be mulched with compost. When 2-3 pairs of leaves are formed on the shoots, thinning is performed, leaving a distance of 30 cm between them( with a row spacing of 60 cm).Melissa also multiplies by dividing into two- or three-year-old shrubs and stems. The latter method is especially useful in plantations of the first year, where there are usually many creeping stems. However, it is recommended to transplant as early as possible, so that plants until the end of summer are well established and not frozen in winter. Good results are obtained by reproduction with young cuttings.

Seed growing. The most developed shrubs with large leaves should be marked during flowering. Plants grown from the seeds of such shrubs give the best result( the percentage of essential oil is much higher).Given that the seeds of lemon balm ripen at the same time, they should be collected in several sets. The cut stems are tied in small bundles and hung on hangers to dry.

Collect lemon balm on seeds in the second half of August - first half of September.

Seeds are dried in open barns or under a canopy, threshed on conventional threshing machines, and then passed through scythes and cleanse the seeds on a sieve with a thick sieve. Small lots of plants are threshed manually in bags with a stick.

Care for plantations. It consists in loosening rows and weeding out weeds. In the second year, loosening is carried out very early. During the vegetation period, local organic and mineral fertilizers should be introduced. With 2-3 top dressings for the summer, the last of them should consist only of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers.

Harvesting. Melissa is cut at a height of 10 cm from the soil surface. In large areas, the harvest is collected with the help of conventional haymakers, and in small areas - with sickles and braids. As a raw material, the leaves are prepared with the apical parts of the stems. The average yield of dry grass from two cuttings, depending on the age of the plants and the conditions of agricultural technology, is 10-30 centner / ha.

Drying .Melissa is recommended to dry in dryers, in the shade in the air or in a well-ventilated room, preferably under an iron roof.

Packing. Raw materials are packed in the morning, when the leaves after the night are still wet, it is pressed into bales wrapped in sackcloth.

Storage .Melissa should be stored separately from other aromatic plants in well-ventilated areas.

Quality requirements for .Melissa herb should be well dried, freshly collected, have a pleasant smell of lemon peel and a slightly viscous bitter-spicy taste.

Fragrant beds in the garden and on the windowsill

Melissa and peppermint are successfully bred in both gardens and indoor areas. Propagation of plants for both domestic maintenance, and for planting in the open ground can be seedlings, division of a bush or old rhizomes. If there is a choice, take the seeds of black color - they have higher germination. Seeds of melissa are very small, they should be sown shallowly, at a distance of 0.5 cm from the surface. Sowing is carried out in February, shoots appear after 2-3 weeks. It is advisable to withstand the temperature of 20-25 ° C and moisten the planting well. In early spring( in the middle zone - in May), shoots are planted in open ground.

In the garden area the bushes are planted in rows, at a distance of 30 cm from each other, the distance between the rows is 40 cm. It is better to choose a sunny place, protected from wind. Melissa prefers warmth and loamy, nutrient-rich, well-moistened soils. It is sensitive to moisture - a deficiency leads to a drying up of the plant, and excess - to the development of diseases. Feed young plants with liquid mineral fertilizers, humus, do not forget to loosen the soil. Leaves or whole shoots from mature plants are collected, as we already know, before flowering. After each cut, the plant should be fed.

In the first year of seed reproduction, lemon balm usually does not bloom.

You can also multiply the balm by dividing the sheet, the layers, the root cuttings.

Another way is to root the tips of young shoots.

If there is no infield, it is possible to grow lemon balm, as well as other spicy-aromatic plants, on the windowsill or on the balcony.

For cultivation on the windowsill, a bright, protected from direct sunlight spot is best suited. Ideal - windows facing east, south and west. If the illumination is not sufficient, and in winter it applies to all rooms, it is recommended to install additional electric lighting. With a lack of light, the essential oil content in the leaves decreases, which means that they will not only be less fragrant, but also lose some of their valuable properties.

Usually fluorescent fluorescent tubes with a power of 40-80 W are used. It is acceptable to use conventional incandescent lamps with a power of 100 or 150 watts per 1 sq. Km.m. Suspend the lamps at a height of 50-60 cm from the plants. Dosvetivanie better spent in the morning hours for 5-6 hours. With such extra efforts, the greens will develop well.

As a substratum, you can use ordinary garden land;make up the soil mixture can be independently of equal parts of the earth, sand, humus. Suitable and ready nourishing soil for the cultivation of houseplants, bought in the store.

Sow seeds in pots or boxes in spring or autumn. You can take wooden or polyethylene boxes in the size of 50x16x15 cm or 50x35x10 cm, ceramic and plastic pots of different diameters, bags of film - in general, what you can find. It will not be superfluous to disinfect the container with a solution of potassium permanganate. At the bottom, you can put a plastic film, then a thin layer of drainage: brick crumbs, gravel, gravel, sand.

Soil before sowing and after planting moisturize. So do with the finished seedlings. Water not only the soil, but also the green parts of plants.

Collection: plants relatively quickly form bushes, which makes it possible to use the first leaves. The best quality leaves have during the flowering period, they can be used fresh or dry. Dry the balm quickly, tied in bundles and hung them in the shade in a draft.

For medicinal purposes only young leaves and shoots are collected - before the plant blooms, that is, in June. At this time, the leaves have a particularly pleasant smell and taste. If possible, avoid to collect places such as roadsides and margins of fields. The ideal option is to grow lemon mint on your garden plot;in this case, you can be sure that it was not subjected to any harmful influences during growth. In addition, when diluted in your own garden, you can extend the time of flowering of lemon balm - with the help of regular pruning. Then you will be able to harvest valuable medicinal raw materials throughout the summer, even in August.

The collection is conducted only in good dry weather, on rainy and foggy days, blanks are excluded. High humidity leads to the formation of mold, and even if it appeared at least in a small amount, the whole batch of raw materials will have to be thrown away - the curative substances are destroyed very quickly. But even with a strong heat, it is better not to harvest the grass. Collect only clean leaves, put them in cotton or linen bags, trying not to crumple or ramming. Lay out the raw material for drying immediately after collection on clean white paper or linen cloth, but in no case under direct sunlight. It is best to dry the grass in an attic or under a canopy in the open air. You can use the traditional method of healers and grassworms - to tie the grass into bundles and hang the whole plant in a well-ventilated place, tied up with a bundle. From time to time, stir up the raw materials.

If you need to speed up the drying process, you can use a conventional kitchen oven, heated to 35-40 ° C, with the door ajar. Careful drying( at a temperature of no higher than 40 ° C) allows you to maximally keep the essential oil in the raw materials.

It should not be mixed when drying lemon balm with other herbs.

Specialists advise to store harvested medicinal raw materials in tin cans. On the tanks do not forget to put the date of harvesting. Periodically, the grass should be checked and removed suspicious and spoiled leaves.

Medicinal properties: has a therapeutic effect in flatulence and gastric or intestinal spasms, soothes the nervous system, improves appetite. It is used for colds and flu. In folk medicine, infusion of lemon balm is used as a sedative for insomnia, neuralgia, dyspnea, asthma, anemia, as a diaphoretic and laxative, with women's diseases. Melissa relieves pain in the heart, relieves tachycardia, lowers blood pressure.

Usage: in the pharmacy of melissa, galenic preparations are prepared in the form of medicinal teas, infusions, aromatic waters, decoctions, lemon balm is used and for obtaining essential oil, which is highly valued.

In the form of infusion: 25-50 g per 1 liter of boiling water, 200 ml 3-4 times a day.

Broth: 10-15 g per 200 ml;1 tbsp.spoon 3 times a day.

Tincture( on alcohol or vodka): 25 g for external use, for internal use, 15 drops 3 times a day.

Melissa is widely used. Extracts from leaves show an effective sedative effect, especially in older people. This makes it possible to reduce the dose of synthetic drugs or even abandon them altogether. Raw material acts and is antispastic, reduces the tension of the smooth muscles of the intestine, stimulates the secretion of digestive juices, has anti-inflammatory, bacteriostatic and antiviral properties. The cytostatic effect of aqueous extracts from melissa has been experimentally confirmed. The plant is used in conditions of general nervous excitation, vascular dystonia, insomnia, heart rhythm disorders, changes in blood pressure under the influence of emotional pathogens, as well as in the disorders that accompany them, with digestive disorders, epigastric pains, autonomic neurosis, gastritis and colitis. It acts tonifying on the brain, heart, uterus, digestive organs. Separately, the leaves of lemon balm are used rarely, more often in combination with mint, chamomile, caraway, hyssop, valerian, lavender and hawthorn. The composition of the therapeutic and prophylactic diet includes salads from young leaves of lemon balm. Outer balm is used for baths, compresses and cosmetics. In folk medicine, the plant is often used as an analgesic and a cardiac remedy. Of the fresh flowers and leaves of lemon balm, tea is prepared, which is used hot as a diaphoretic, also used to delay menstruation and fainting. In the cold, it's a refreshing drink.

According to a number of studies, this plant is a very good honey, rich in nectar( it gives up to 160 kg / ha of honey, which has a pleasant aroma and delicate taste).A strong lemon scent balm attracts and soothes bees. However, it should be noted that some beekeeper practices sometimes confuse lemon balm with lemon cats( Nepeta calaria L. f. Var. Citriodora Balb.), Although there are significant differences between them.

Hot infusion: 20 grams per 1 liter of boiling water, with all nervous illnesses, stomach neurosis, violent emotional upheavals, fright, grief, melancholy, etc.

Melissa medications

If you have not yet engaged in self-cultivation of lemon balm on your windowsill or garden plot, you can take advantage of what is offered to us in pharmacies. Ready-made packaged raw materials for home use are produced - Melissa folium leaf. Some recipes include melissa oil( Melissae aetheroleum), it is also not difficult to find in a conventional or specialized phyto-therapy.

Melissa broth: take 10-20 grams of chopped herbs( 1 tablespoon) on a glass of boiling water. Rinse your mouth with inflammation of the oral mucosa and gums, as well as with toothache.

Melissa infusion: 2 tablespoons of crushed leaves pour 2 cups of boiling water, insist for an hour. Take 1/2 cup 3 times daily before meals as soothing with neuroses of various origins. With pain in the heart, shortness of breath and for other medical purposes - 1 tablespoon 3-4 times a day. The raw material remaining after straining is used for warm compresses - they are made 1-3 times a day.

Melissa infusion of drug for cystitis

Required:

2 tbsp.spoons of herbs Melissa, 500 ml of water.

Method of preparation.

Grass chop, pour boiling water, insist for 1 hour, strain.

Calming tea: 3 teaspoons finely chopped Melissa leaf pour 250 ml of boiling water and insist 10 minutes under the lid. Do not be afraid of an overdose if the color of the finished drink turns out to be darker than that of regular tea. Melissa tea, like valerian tea, should be darker: the sedative( calming) properties of the plant will be more fully manifested. It is recommended to drink 3 cups of this drug every day. If you add honey, the hypnotic effect of the drink will increase. People with increased excitability, persistent disturbances of sleep will benefit from prolonged course treatment with such infusion.

Soothing teas are useful not only for those who already suffer from insomnia, neuroses, increased nervous excitability, but also to practically healthy people after severe stress. Take 3 pieces of melissa grass and 1 part of the leaves of strawberries and bones. It turns out a very pleasant fragrant drink, it strengthens the cardiovascular system, normalizes the pulse. You can brew the same soft tea from 3 parts of melissa leaves, 2 parts of rose hips and 2 parts of linden flowers.

"Melissa Spirit" tincture has been known since the 18th century, it was prepared in one of the monasteries of Germany, used for fatigue, deep depression, for toning. For 1 liter of vodka you need to take 20 g. Of dry leaves of lemon balm, 1 g of crushed angelica root, peel of one lemon, a pinch of ground nutmeg and crushed coriander seeds, 1-2 pieces of clove spice. All this is insisted for at least two weeks, then filtered and bottled. Drink a little, adding to the tea. When migraines can be rubbed with infusion of whiskey.

Aromatic bath: 50-60 g of lemon balm is poured into 1 liter of water, heated to boiling, infused for 10 minutes, then filtered and poured into a bath so that the water temperature in the bath is 37-38 ° C.Such procedures are recommended for diseases of the respiratory system, skin diseases, chronic fatigue syndrome, general weakening of the body, sleep disorders, other neurotic symptoms. The duration of the procedure is 15-20 minutes. The course of treatment - 10-15 baths, but it can also be extended. You can use a multicomponent fragrant mixture: they take 20 grams of melissa herb, peppermint, oregano, wormwood, yarrow, pine buds, rhizome of calamus. Vegetable raw materials are mixed, poured into 10 liters of water, boiled over low heat for half an hour, and a bath is prepared with this composition.

After a soothing bath, you quickly and soundly fall asleep on a pillow with odorous dried herbs - melissa, chamomile, oregano, thyme. And you can put under a pillow a handful of hop cones or a birch broom.

Soothing decoction of lemon balm

Requires: 2 tbsp.l.crushed lemon balm, 2 cups of beer.

Method of preparation. Pound the melissa with hot beer. Leave to infuse for 3 hours. Then drain.

How to use. Drink all the infusion obtained during the day in small sips.

In diseases: the initial stages of hypertension, neurocirculatory dystonia, neurotic state.

Preparation and storage of : with medicinal raw materials are leaves or whole shoots. The first time they are collected before flowering. After each cutting of the leaves, the plants are fed. The raw material is dried in the shade or in a dryer at a temperature of 35 ° C.Store in a glass or wooden container for 2 years.

Dosage form : for preparation of infusion 2 tbsp.l.crushed leaves pour 2 cups of boiling water, insist 1 hour and take 0.5 cup 3 times daily before meals.

Used in the production of liqueurs and perfumes.

In the alcoholic beverage industry, lemon balm is used for the preparation of higher varieties of liqueurs. It is also used in canning production when pickling cucumbers and especially tomatoes, giving them a pleasant aroma, spice and firmness.

Leaves and young shoots of lemon balm in fresh and dry form are added to food as a spice for flavoring tea resins and liqueurs. They have a lemon scent and a weakly kneading bitter taste.

Many people like to add lemon balm to grated cheese. Used in the preparation of veal, pork, lamb and game, dishes from milk and eggs, fruit soups, pea and potato soups and when cooking fish, especially carp. Melissa can be added to dishes from mushrooms, vegetable soups and cottage cheese. It is not recommended to put melissa in the process of preparation, it should be added to ready meals.

Salad with Melissa

1 head of lettuce, 1 bunch of radishes, 1 carrot, salt, black pepper, a pinch of sugar, 2 tbsp.l.vegetable oil, lemon and white vinegar, kefir, 2 hard-boiled eggs, 2 tbsp.l. Melissa Lettuce, carrots, radish, chop, salt, pepper, sprinkle with sugar, add butter, lemon juice, stir with yogurt and sliced ​​boiled egg. Sprinkle with crushed melissa and serve for lunch or dinner.

Potato salad with melissa

Boiled chilled potatoes, green onions and fresh herbs of lemon balm, add salt, season with sour cream, mix. For 300 g of potatoes 40 grams of onion, 40 grams of melissa greens.

Yogurt with Melissa

Milk boil, cool to 37 ° C and stir with yoghurt. Pour the mass in jars, cover with foil and leave for 1 day at a temperature of about 20 ° C.The next day, add a teaspoon of chopped lemon balm to each jar and cool it.

For 1.5 liters of milk, 1-2 cups of yoghurt( kefir), lemon balm.

Useful and medicinal properties of balm of medicinal

Family Gubotic( Lunar) - Lamiaceae

The generic name is derived from Greek melissa - a bee, as the plant attracts bees. Species definition in translation from Latin - pharmacy, which indicates the use of plants.

Botanical description. Perennial herb with lemon scent. Rhizome branched, with subterranean shoots and thin subordinate roots. Stalk one or more, erect, tetrahedral, opposite branching, pubescent, 50-120 cm high. Leaves alternately opposite, petiolate, ovate, crenate-serrate. Flowers whitish or pink, with bilabial coronals, calyx green, campanulate, bicuspid, flowers in the axils of the upper leaves are arranged half-hammers( false whorls) of 3-10 flowers. Stamens four, two of them shorter. Pestle is one, with the upper four-ovoid ovary. Fruit - fractional, consists of four nuts, sitting on the bottom of the cup.

Blossoms from June to September. Fruits ripen in August - October.

Another lemongrass plant possesses a lemon scent - cat feline - Nepeta cataria L., in which the half-hammers form a spicate inflorescence on the apex of the stem. Calyx is not bisexual, but five-dentate.

Geographical distribution. It grows in the south of the European part of the USSR, in the Caucasus and in Central Asia, it also occurs as a wild plant. It is bred in many parts of the country. The plant is especially appreciated by beekeepers, since the smell attracts bees. The leaves are rubbed with a new hive, and the bees willingly settle in it, the scent of melissa attracts the bees when they are swallowed.

Collection and drying. Collect leaves and shoots separately at the beginning of flowering. Dry in the shade, most often in attics.

Medicinal raw materials. Finished raw material - melissa leaf( Folium Melissae) consists of ovoid leaves with a wide-wedged base, together with petiole, 6-8 cm long. Edge is serrate-serrate. Bottom leaves are covered with glandular hairs, from above they are rare, light.

Melissa herb - Herba Melissae contains leafy stems 20-25 cm long, with leaves and flowers of the structure described.

Smell strong, lemon. Raw material is unofficial.

Chemical composition. The herb contains up to 0.33% of essential oil containing up to 60% of citral, citronel-lal, myrcene and geraniol, up to 150 mg% of vitamin C, bitter, resinous substances, coumarin esculetin, flavonoids - didymine, isosacuranine, isosacuranetine, diosmin, about5% condensed tannins, coffee, oleanolic and ursolic acids.

Action and application. Melissa essential oil is low-toxic, has a soothing effect. Other biologically active compounds of the plant have spasmolytic, cardiac muscle strengthening, wound-healing action. In people with heart disease, dyspnea disappears, attacks of tachycardia cease, pains in the region of the heart are removed. In addition, melissa has a beneficial effect on the stomach, the brain, especially with spasms, dizziness and noise in the ears, regulates the work of the gastrointestinal tract. In some countries, lemon balm is used as an analogue of valerian.

Take as infusion at the rate of 20-40 g. Raw materials per 400 ml of water for 1/2 cup( 100 ml) 3-4 times a day as a sedative, with heart disease, flatulence and caused by them colic, migraine, insomnia, painful menstruation, diathesis. Grass is a part of the charges, appointed for these diseases, as well as atherosclerosis and hypertension.

Useful and medicinal properties of melissa essential oil

A perennial plant growing in Europe, North America and Asia. The oil is obtained by steam distillation from a fresh, flowering aboveground part of the plant, yield 0.1%.The oil contains geraniol( 12%), linalool( 14%), citronellol( 4%), citral( 1%).

Avicenna also described his ability to "invigorate and strengthen the heart, stop interruptions, help with blockage of the brain, eliminate bad smell from the mouth."Haldegarre Bien-genskaya believed that "Melissa has the strength of 15 herbs, it pleases and strengthens the heart."Odo from Mena writes about melissa as follows: "And with the bites of various immediately the grass helps."It was used by monks to obtain Carmelite water as early as 1611, and in France, lemon balm was used as a gastric and antispasmodic. First of all, essential oil balm is an excellent sedative for sleep disorders, insomnia, stress, fear, depression, melancholy, asthenia, memory loss, headache. It has antiviral activity and can be used to treat herpes, influenza and herpes zoster.

Essential oil has a positive effect for asthenia, anemia, weaknesses, dizziness, fainting.

Inhalations with melissa oil are used for asthma and coughing.2 - 3 drops of oil with honey improve coronary blood flow and cardiac activity, reduce blood pressure, eliminate heartbeat, have a positive effect in the complex therapy of phlebitis, varicose veins. Essential oil contributes to an increase in life expectancy, as it normalizes the body's natural biorhythms and slows down the aging process. In gynecology, oil is used as a hemostatic for prolonged copious uterine bleeding.

In cosmetics in the form of aromatic oil and lotion essential oil of lemon balm is used to care for oily, acne prone skin and oily hair, it eliminates dandruff and restores the natural virgin color of the lips.

Dosage: aroma lamps - 3 - 5 drops, baths - up to 5 drops, massage - 3 - 5 per 10 ml of vegetable oil, cream enrichment - up to 4 drops for 5 g.