Lemon Balm Benefits Blood Sugar, Diabetics

SEOUL, KoreaLemon Balm Essential Oil administered at low concentrations is an efficient hypoglycemic agent, probably due to enhanced glucose uptake, metabolism in the liver, and adipose tissue and the inhibition of gluconeogenesis in the liver, according to a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition (May 21, 2010).

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) essential oils (LBEO) antioxidant activity in mice was investigated. LBEO scavenged 97 percent of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals at a 270-fold dilution. Mice administered 0.015 mg/d of LBEO for six weeks showed significantly reduced blood glucose and TAG concentrations, improved glucose tolerance and significantly higher serum insulin levels, compared with the control group. The hypoglycemic mechanism of LBEO was further explored via gene and protein expression analyses. Among all glucose metabolism-related genes studied, hepatic glucokinase and GLUT4, as well as adipocyte GLUT4, PPAR-gamma, PPAR-alpha and SREBP-1c expression, were significantly up-regulated, whereas glucose-6-phosphatase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase expression was down-regulated in the livers of the LBEO group.