The Effects of Lemon balm on Menstrual Bleeding and the Systemic Manifestation of Dysmenorrhea

We conducted a double-blind randomized placebo controlled trial to evaluate the impact of Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) on the bleeding and systemic manifestations of menstruation. A total of 90 students were randomly assigned to treatment or placebo group. Bleeding and systemic manifestations were evaluated with a menstrual pictogram and multidimensional verbal scale before and during 2 consecutive menstrual cycles respectively. Statistical tests showed that in both groups, the severity of the systemic symptoms associated with dysmenorrhea decreased significantly (P=0.001). Among the systemic symptoms, the mean severity of fatigue, the lethargy and nervous changes in the two groups decreased after the treatment, which was statistically significant. There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding fatigue in the three cycles, but there was a significant difference between the two groups regarding lethargy in the first cycle (p=0.05) and the second cycle (p= 0.001) after the treatment. The present study showed that M. officinalis decreases the severity of the systemic signs associated with menstruation. It showed that the herb does not increase the severity of bleeding and the duration of menstruation. However, it reduces the mean total score of the severity of all the systemic symptoms associated with dysmenorrhea.