Hăncianu Monica, Aprotosoaie Ana Clara, Gille Elvira, Poiată Antonia, Tuchiluş Cristina, Spac A, Stănescu Ursula
School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Gr.T. Popa" Iaşi.
Rev Med Chir Soc Med Nat Iasi. 2008 Jul-Sep;112(3):843-7.
Melissa officinalis L. (lemon balm) is used in traditional medicine to treat insomnia, anxiety, gastric conditions, psychiatric conditions, migraines, hypertension and bronchial conditions. Natural essential oils (mixtures of fragrant chemical) obtained from various parts of plants are efficient active antimicrobial agents. The widespread use of antimicrobial agents selects resistant bacterial strains, which seriously compromise the effectiveness of antibiotic treatment. The use of herbal medicines might be a precautionary measure to prevent the development of lack of susceptibility to synthetic antibiotics that is associated with therapeutic failures.
In this work, the chemical composition and the antimicrobial properties of essential oil from romanian Melissa officinalis were determined. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate in vitro antimicrobial activity of lemon balm oil by comparison with lavender essential oil, which is also utilised for its antimicrobial properties in folk medicine.
The most important identified compounds, well known for their antimicrobial effects were citral (neral and geranial) (16.10%), citronellal (3.76%) and trans-caryophyllene (3.57%).The lemon balm oil sample exhibited a higher degree antibacterial activity than did Lavandula oil against Gram-positive strains. The both oil samples tested has shown a high activity against Candida albicans. The gram-negative bacteria were not affected by the lemon balm oil.
香蜂草（Melissa officinalis L.）在传统医学中用于治疗失眠、焦虑、胃部疾病、精神疾病、偏头痛、高血压和支气管疾病。从植物各个部位提取的天然精油（芳香化学成分的混合物）是有效的活性抗菌剂。抗菌剂的广泛使用会筛选出耐药菌株，这严重影响了抗生素治疗的效果。使用草药可能是一种预防措施，以防止出现与治疗失败相关的对合成抗生素不敏感的情况。
在这项研究中，测定了罗马尼亚香蜂草精油的化学成分和抗菌特性。因此，本研究的目的是通过与薰衣草精油比较来评估香蜂草油的体外抗菌活性，薰衣草精油在民间医学中也因其抗菌特性而被使用。
已鉴定出的最重要的具有抗菌作用的化合物为柠檬醛（橙花醛和香叶醛）（16.10%）、香茅醛（3.76%）和反式石竹烯（3.57%）。香蜂草油样品对革兰氏阳性菌株的抗菌活性高于薰衣草油。所测试的两种油样对白色念珠菌均表现出高活性。革兰氏阴性菌不受香蜂草油的影响。
