Melissa (Lemon Balm) Serbia

Essential oil from M. officinalis has commercial importance owing to its applications in the pharmaceutical and food industry. M. officinalis EO is used as an additive in foods, herbal teas, cosmetics, and also in ornaments. The production cost and price of the oil are very high, because of the low yield of EO extraction.The EO is considered to be mainly responsible for the antibacterial and antifungal activities of the plant. The EO obtained from the aerial parts of cultivated M. officinalis collected from Vojvodina (Serbia) was characterized by the presence of high concentrations of geranial (23.4%), neral (16.5%) and citronellal (13.7%).