Abstract
Phytochemical characters were evaluated in a five-year-old lemon balm collection consisting of 15 and 13 subspecies officinalis and altissima accessions, respectively. Stems were lower in essential oil than leaves. First cut leaves (June) gave more oil than those of the second cut (August). Subspecies officinalis plants had leaf oils rich in geranial, neral and citronellal in various proportions in the first cut. However, in the second cut the oils from all accessions appeared very similar with 80–90% geranial plus neral. Leaf oils of subsp. altissima contained sesquiterpenes (β-caryophyllene, caryophyllene oxide, germacrene D) and also further monoterpenes in the second cut. Leaves had higher rosmarinic acid (RA) contents than stems. More RA was in subsp. officinalis than subsp. altissima leaves. First cut leaves were richer in RA than those from second cut. Total phenolics and antioxidant parameters showed that lemon balm is a valuable source of plant antioxidants.
Highlights
Lemon balm has a long tradition of use as a spice, medicinal plant and herbal tea with mild sedative properties
Significant differences were found for the characters shoot length (p = 0.002), distance of nodes (p < 0.001) and the ratio leaf length/width (p = 0.015)
One-way analysis of variance was applied to evaluate differences in rosmarinic acid contents and antioxidant parameters. Both lemon balm subspecies can clearly be differentiated by the composition of their essential oils
Summary
Lemon balm has a long tradition of use as a spice, medicinal plant and herbal tea with mild sedative properties. It originates from the eastern Mediterranean and western Asia region and is nowadays naturalized and cultivated in many countries [1,2]. Arcang., Lamiaceae (according to ThePlantList.org) were differentiated, that can be distinguished by the indumentum of the leaves and the shape of the middle tooth of the upper lip of the fruiting calyx [1]. Modern pharmacological studies demonstrate that M. officinalis has several biological activities including antioxidant, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, antimicrobial, anticancer, antidepressant, anxiolytic, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and spasmolytic properties [5,6,7]. The use in the food industry is of interest due to the antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of the plant [5]
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