LONGECITY

I consumed some lemon balm tonight in the GAIA Black Elderberry Syrup I drank to treat my cold tonight. I drank half the 3 fl oz bottle so I am thinking I consumed a good amount of lemon balm along with it. I definitely felt more relaxed and alert about 20 minutes later and noticed that could actually read better than I had recently(I've not been able to read very well for a while now). So I did a little research on lemon balm and found that it is a nicotinic and muscarinic receptor agonist, making it a potential agent for improving memory and cognitive function.

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/10687867

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/12062586

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/12888775

I did a lot of research on this herb and everything point to a natural nootropic.

I would say it is one of the best.

The lemon balm product on iherb contains like 60% alcohol, that's alot lol. I thought rescue remedy which contained 27% was alot.

The lemon balm product on iherb contains like 60% alcohol, that's alot lol. I thought rescue remedy which contained 27% was alot.

You can always get it in capsule form or in a non-alcohol tincture. If you do get it in an alcohol tincture, the alcohol may increase absorption if you swish it around in your mouth. You will be able to tell the difference between the effects of lemon balm and the small amount of alcohol you consume. I really don't think alcohol is much of an issue, especially since the effects of that small amount of alcohol would be very short-lived, if you noticed any effects at all.

GABA transaminase inhibitor

Was curious if any can comment on a dosage range for Lemon Balm. Natures Way has Lemon Balm Leaf(Melissa Leaves)/ 1.47g / 33 servings. Was going to start with that, but was looking for the Anxiolytic effects it's also been claimed to have.

GABA transaminase inhibitor

We also discussed the GABAergic mechanisms a bit in this thread: Melissa officinalis (Lemon balm) mechanism of action.

Some people seem to use MO as a nootropic, but I would classify it first as an anxiolytic. I find it sedating and emotionally flattening, which makes sense if it potentially increases GABA. I guess its usefulness would depend on an individual's reaction to these two systems. For instance, this study found that 600mg enhanced attentional scores, but decreased working memory, secondary memory, and alertness.

There was an interesting implication in this study, which I didn't catch before: with doses of 600, 1000, and 1600mg, only the largest was found to have an "overwhelmingly favorable" profile of cognitive enhancement, with decreasing dosage producing decrements in processing speed and memory. I could speculate that the increase in GABA reaches a ceiling at a certain dose; only a certain portion of GABA-T can be inhibited (even if it's all of it), for a certain amount of time. And presynaptic GABA-B autoreceptors will limit the amount of synaptic GABA. However, the cholinergic effects might be expected to be a little more linear in dose-response, so higher doses could produce an effect that balances or outweighs the GABA inhibition. Just a theory to explain that result, of course.

I grind up the herb in a ribbed mortar, and take it in capsules. I also use a stainless steel tea ball sometimes, for higher dosages. I've played with 100-600mg doses for sedation/anxiolysis; usually 100-200mg if I'm trying to reduce stress while studying. Given my speculation above, I'll probably try a 1.5-2g dose sometime soon, when I can afford to be zonked out if it doesn't work.

The one from natures way seems like a good starting point, unless wanting to get the actual product in powder form. There's 3 capsules to = 1 serving of 1.5g . Which is pretty convenient to lower and increase the dosage by around 500mg.


edit: Oh damn I thought I already wrote this in my previous message *searches up brainfog*
Edited by Kdvwest, 25 September 2010 - 04:30 PM.

I made it into a tea using several grams. It had a sedating effect at first but doesn't seem to do anything anymore. Maybe an extract would do something.

I tried it at 1.5g last year for a week and had pretty good result. I thought it was good for clarity of thought.

Any herb should be tried at least for 1.5g to get something solid and this is true for most herb. Under 1.5 gram it's more of a supportive/synergism role. I'm talking about raw herb not extract.

Lemon Balm is highly underrated.

I mixed LB with yerba mate and it tasted bad, maybe too much LB. When I tried it alone I liked it, it is calming.
I read it can lower thyroid so take care.

This stuff definatly sparked my interest, i wonder wheter it raises glutamate because of the nicitinic agonism.

I love Lemon Balm. I used to have a big patch of it growing out back when I lived in another state than where I live now, fresh tea from fresh leaves is great. Now I use one of those tinctures you get at the health food stores. Sometimes I use an encapsulated powdered extract too. I should start growing it again though. I like it if I am taking other things that are relaxing or GABA-like in nature. I rarely use it all by itself. It really seems to potentiate things well allowing smaller doses to be used without developing tolerances (for me at least).

Here is a link to a pamphlet from Naturex for their branded lemon balm extract that is worth looking at for information on how they think it works and dosage and stuff http://www.naturex.c...ent/cyracos.pdf .

I would not mind to go on a date with that girl on the front-cover of the pfd.

she would probably talk your ear off about lemon balm.

lol

can't wait to add this to my ever growing stack