Melissa officinalis, commonly known as lemon balm, is a herb that’s traditionally used for various medical purposes — primarily for stress and anxiety reduction — as well as gastrointestinal disorders and herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections.
Dr Jeffrey Langland from the Ric Scalzo Institute for Botanical Research at Sonoran University of Health Sciences has extensively studied this herb.
His team's research has identified how extracts and potential compounds from the plant inhibit herpes viruses by blocking its ability to attach to and infect a cell.
Although the initial therapeutic focus was on treating herpes viruses, Dr Langland's team found that the herbal extract also showed promising activity against an Ebola chimera virus.
The extract was again shown to inhibit virus attachment to the cell and reduce viral infection via the heparan sulphate proteoglycan receptor. Results from these studies indicate that the extract and its potential compounds are highly potent … yet non-toxic to cells.
Marburg virus is a highly virulent disease that can cause haemorrhagic fever and is both structurally and clinically similar to the Ebola virus; both belong to the Filoviridae family.
A recent outbreak of Marburg virus in Rwanda resulted in 58 cases, including 13 deaths. In the 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, more than 28,600 cases and 11,325 deaths were reported.
According to the World Health Organization, Marburg virus disease is a severe illness that’s similar to Ebola and presents symptoms such as high fever, muscle aches, watery diarrhoea, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting and more.
Although Melissa officinalis extracts have never been used clinically for Marburg or Ebola outbreaks, given the herb's abundance and ease of extraction as a tea, its potential use to treat or prevent infection should be considered.