User:Cjroell/sandbox

Lemon Balm.

Sleep

Lemon balm, including lemon balm extract, has been shown to improve sleep quality. Children patients have displayed improvement in restlessness and dyssomnia with the ingestion of lemon balm extract. Further evidence has demonstrated a significant reduction in levels of insomnia.

Anxiety and Depression

Lemon balm is commonly associated with anti-stress and anti-anxiety. Studies have shown a significant increase in calmness in healthy patients exposed to lemon balm when compared to placebo. In addition, lemon balm ingestion is linked to improvement in mood and cognitive performance. Gender and administration length appear to have an impact on the effectiveness of lemon balm as a treatment for depression.

Antioxidant

Several studies have demonstrated the lemon balm’s antioxidant activity, obtained through high amounts of flavonoids, rosmaric acid, gallic acid and phenolic contents.

Additional Properties

Lemon balm has also been shown to possess antimicrobial, antiviral, antispasmodic and antitumoral properties.

History and Domestication

Sources date the medicinal use of lemon balm to over 2000 years ago through the Greeks and Romans. Further mention is found in Theophrastus’s Historia Plantarum, dated to around 300 BC. Lemon balm was formally introduced into Spain in the 7th century, from which its use and domestication spread throughout Europe. Its use in the Middle Ages is noted by herbalists, writers, philosophers, and scientists, with Swiss physician and alchemist, Paracelsus, deeming it the “elixir of life”. Lemon balm was introduced to North America with the arrival of early colonists, and is recorded to have been among the herbs cultivated in Thomas Jefferson’s garden.

Spearmint.

Antitumor

The main chemical component of spearmint is the terpenoid carvone, which has been shown to aid in the inhibition of tumors. Perillyl alcohol, an additional terpenoid found in lower concentrations in spearmint, positively effects the regulation of various cell substances involved in cell growth and differentiation.

Antioxidant

Studies on spearmint have shown varying results on the antioxidant effects of the plant and its extracts. Results have ranged from spearmint essential oil displaying considerable free radical scavenging activity to no antioxidant activity in spearmint essential oil, but strong activity in spearmint methanolic extract. Antioxidant activity has been shown to be significantly higher in spearmint that is dried at lower temperatures rather than high. It is suggested this is due to the degradation of phenolics at high temperatures. In experiments demonstrating antioxidant properties in spearmint oil, the major component, carvone, alone showed lower antioxidant activity.

Antimicrobial

Spearmint has been historically used for its antimicrobial activity, which is likely due to the high concentration of carvone. Its antibacterial activity has been compared to, and is even said to surpass, that of amoxicillin, penicillin, and streptomycin. Spearmint oil is found to have higher activity against Gram-positive bacteria compared to Gram-negative bacteria, which may be due to differing sensitivities to oils. The degree of antimicrobial activity varies with the type of microorganism tested.

Additional Properties

Studies have found significant anti-androgen effects in spearmint, specifically following routine spearmint herbal tea ingestion. Antispasmodic effects have been displayed in spearmint oil and carvone, the main chemical component of spearmint. Spearmint is also associated with improvements in oral and gastrointestinal health.

History and Domestication

Mention of spearmint dates back to at least the first century AD, with references from naturalist Pliny and later mention in the bible. Further records show descriptions of mint in ancient mythology. Findings of early versions of toothpaste using mint in the 14th century suggest widespread domestication by this point. It was introduced into England through the Romans by the 15th century, and the “Father of British Botany”, of the surname Turner, mentions mint as being good for ‘ye stomack’. Spearmint is document as being an important cash crop in Connecticut during the period of the American Revolution, at which time mint teas were noted as being a popular drink due to them not being taxed.

Research suggests that Spearmint is an allopolyploid derivation of M. longifolia and  M. suaveolens, with varied leaf blade dimensions, prominence of leaf veins, and pubescence. While spearmint is known to be native to Europe and Asia, its true natural range is unknown due to early domestication.