Characteristics of the lemon balm plant, how it looks, what it is used for, what its therapeutic properties are, how to use it to treat various types of ailments.
How to use lemon balm
Grass characterized by an erect and branched stem, with petiolate leaves, lemon balm grows up to about one meter in height.
At the axilla of the upper leaves there are bundles of flowers, having the tubular chalice with two lips.
The corolla is white-yellowish or pinkish-white in color, besides the plant has many hairs, intense but pleasant smell, bitter taste.
Lemon balm, which is harvested on flowering, contains an essential oil, a bitter principle, camphor, tannin, sugar, succinic acid and pectin.
About the origins, lemon balm was cultivated in the east since ancient times as a medicinal plant, later it also spread to Europe.
Concerning the properties, lemon balm acts initially as a weak stimulant, then as a sedative.
A lemon balm infusion has bitter-aromatic, sedative and antispasmodic properties.
It has calming effects for many ailments, including insomnia, nervous vomiting, headache, teeth, ears, exhaustion, stomach and intestine spasms.
It is used with positive effects to combat difficult digestions, stomach cramps and digestive disorders of nervous origin in general.
In powder form, this plant is also effective against intestinal worms.
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Externally, the concentrated infusion acts as a stimulant for the skin.
Lemon balm alcohol is used with moderate results against rheumatic pain and bruises.
To prepare an infusion you need twenty grams of lemon balm every liter of boiling water, to rest for a few minutes, before drinking a cup up to 3 or 4 times a day.
To make an alcoholic, one part of lemon balm is calculated every 8 of brandy, a preparation indicated for treating bruises and insect bites.
