Evaluation of Essential Oil Composition and Rosmarinic Acid Content in Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis L.) Cultivated in South of Iran

Melissa officinalis L. is used since ancient times in folk medicine because of its sedative, digestive, carminative, spasmolytic and analgesic effects. Its therapeutic impact is due to the essential oil content and rosmarinic acid. This study was designed to determine chemical composition of essential oil and rosmarinic acid content of M. officinalis cultivated in Fars province in south of Iran. The essential oil was obtained by hydro-distillation of dried aerial parts of harvested M. officinalis and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Rosmarinic acid content was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. The results showed that essential oil content was 0.37% and its main constituents were geranial (28.9%), neral (21.5%), geranyl acetate (19.3%), caryophyllene oxide (7.0%), (E)-caryophyllene (6.8%), thymol (3.1%) and citronellal (2.9%). Rosmarinic acid content was 3% in dry weight. Our findings show south of Iran has suitable potential for production of M. officinalis with high quality for therapeutic usages.