The seasonal nature of plant materials: lemon balm encounter

An essential plant for your nutraceutical products

An essential food supplement ingredient, lemon balm (Melissea Officinalis L.) has a long tradition and a wide range of uses. Lemon balm leaves have been used since Ancient Greece times to improve digestive and nervous system functions [1].

Today, the aromatic and medicinal plant, lemon balm, has the highest market value share on the French market in the food supplement field with over 800k€ in 2016, according to the Synadiet report [2].

We can now find it in food supplements, teas or infusions to facilitate digestion and sleep while helping to fight stress [3]. It is oftentimes combined with peppermint (Mentha x Piperita L.), hawthorn (Crataegus laevigata), poppies (Papaver rhoeas), hops (Humulus lupulus), passiflora (Passiflora incarnata) and valerian (Valeriana officinalis).

The impact of lemon balm is linked to the presence of several active substances [1] including rosmarinic acid, eucalyptol, methyleugenol, etc. As with all plants, its composition varies depending on the season, but the difference with other plants is that lemon balm has 2 harvests a year.

The first harvest occurs in spring and provides a high content of rosmarinic acid.
The second harvest takes place at the end of summer and provides exceptional essential oils.

To guarantee the best lemon balm to the consumer, it is essential to have a quality procurement supply chain with a constant follow-up of the crops to ensure an optimum content of the principle actives.

A 100% French supply chain with guaranteed principles actives

At Natural Origins, we monitor the raw material with regular analyses up until obtaining representative samples using titration in compliance with demanding quality criteria.

In collaboration with French producers, we provide solutions to guarantee quality, titrated and French origin botanical ingredients throughout the year. We have established strong commitments over the years with these producers and we have built trusting relationships with them. We rely on their know-how and expertise in soil management to offer you top quality ingredients and ensure stocks throughout the year based on cultivation contracts.

Based on this trusting relationship with local producers, we are able to go even farther by providing you supplementary plots to guarantee the quantities you need in addition to offering you the possibility of choosing the field or the region in France where your raw materials will come from.

Numerous available lemon balm references

You can discover our ingredients by consulting our 7 days a week, 24 hours a day on-line catalogue. This will allow you to speed up the sourcing in natural ingredients. In just a click you can access the technical sheet of the raw material, the product origin, available stocks, and you can even request a sample.

If you are thinking of developing a custom designed ingredient or if you want to be accompanied in the formulation of a new lemon balm-based product, please contact our Botanical Studio®. Our experts are there to help you to quickly develop your new project.