--- title: Can a lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) capsule improve mental health symptoms in teenage girls with PMS? description: Yes, in this trial girls taking lemon balm capsules had significantly better scores for psychosomatic symptoms, anxiety, sleep problems and social functioning url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/effect-of-melissa-officinalis-capsule-on-the-mental-health-of-female-adolescents-2018/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Can a lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) capsule improve mental health symptoms in teenage girls with PMS? Randomised trial, 2018 # Can a lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) capsule improve mental health symptoms in teenage girls with PMS? Yes, in this trial girls taking lemon balm capsules had significantly better scores for psychosomatic symptoms, anxiety, sleep problems and social functioning than girls taking a placebo. Moderate study design 100 female adolescents with PMS ## What they did 100 female teenagers with PMS were randomly split into two groups. One group took 600 mg of lemon balm capsules twice a day, the other took a placebo, over three menstrual cycles. Mental health was measured before and after using a standard health questionnaire and compared between groups. ## What they found The lemon balm group had significantly lower scores (meaning fewer problems) than the placebo group for psychosomatic symptoms (p < 0.001), anxiety and sleep problems (p < 0.001), and social function problems (p = 0.021). ## What it means for you Lemon balm capsules may help ease some mental and physical PMS symptoms in teenage girls, based on this trial comparing it to a placebo. As the study looked only at female adolescents over three cycles, it is not yet known whether the same benefit applies to adult women or over longer periods of use. n=100 teenage girls in the trial p < 0.001 significance for psychosomatic symptoms and anxiety/sleep problems p = 0.021 significance for social function problems ## About the study Original title Effect of Melissa officinalis capsule on the mental health of female adolescents with premenstrual syndrome: a clinical trial study Authors Heydari N, Dehghani M, Emamghoreishi M et al. Journal International journal of adolescent medicine and health Year 2018 Study design Randomised trial Participants 100 What was tested Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) capsules, 600 mg twice daily, taken across three menstrual cycles, compared with placebo Read the paper [doi.org/10.1515/ijamh-2017-0015](https://doi.org/10.1515/ijamh-2017-0015) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Sleep and insomnia](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-sleep/)[Other herbal medicine](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-herbal-other/)[Adolescents and young people](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-adolescents/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Survey study, 2026 What dietary, lifestyle, and psychological factors are associated with PMS in young women? Survey study, 2025 Do menstrual problems and poor sleep affect mood and thinking in teenage girls? Review, 2023 Can herbs and supplements help with PMS symptoms? Case-control study, 2020 Is diet quality lower in teenagers with PMS? Non-randomised trial, 2019 Does exercising before your period help with pain and anxiety? Survey study, 2026 How common is PMDD in Russian medical students, and what are its symptoms? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗