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Does lemon balm cause headaches?

Written by the Full Measure editorial team, which sells supplements. Approved for publication by the Full Measure owners. Updated .

Drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed below. How we write these

Quick answer

NIH's LiverTox lists headache, dizziness and bloating as the few minor, non-specific side effects seen in small lemon balm trials, often as frequent with placebo as with lemon balm. A three-week trial in 100 adults reported only mild stomach upset, in 4 of 52 people on lemon balm and 5 of 48 on placebo.1,2

Key facts

  • LiverTox says small trials of lemon balm extracts found only a few minor, non-specific effects (headache, dizziness, bloating), often as frequent with placebo.1
  • LiverTox gives no rate for headache, and says how often allergic reactions to lemon balm occur is not known.1
  • NIH's lactation database lists nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dizziness and wheezing as occasional effects in adults, and does not name headache.3
  • In a three-week trial, mild stomach upset was reported by 4 of 52 people on lemon balm and 5 of 48 on placebo, with no other treatment-related effects.2
  • A 2021 systematic review of trials in people with anxiety or depression symptoms reported no serious side effects, and a 2016 review says data on adverse effects are still limited.4,5

What NIH's liver database says about headache

LiverTox, the NIH database of liver injury from medicines and supplements, covers lemon balm because the question is whether it harms the liver. In passing it also describes tolerability. It calls lemon balm extract generally well tolerated with few if any adverse events, and says that in small trials the extracts caused only a few minor, non-specific effects: headache, dizziness and bloating. It adds that these often occurred about as often among people given placebo.1

The entry gives no figure for headache. It also says the frequency of hypersensitivity reactions to lemon balm extract is not known.1

Its bibliography summarizes a 2016 randomized trial in which 58 adults took 3 g of lemon balm leaf powder a day or a placebo, and lists occasional headache and dizziness among the minor side effects. The trial's own abstract reports lab results rather than side effects.1,6

What NIH's lactation database lists

Lemon balm is generally well tolerated. Nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, dizziness and wheezing have been reported occasionally.3

Headache is not on that list. The two NIH sources overlap on dizziness and differ on the rest.1,3

What trials of lemon balm itself reported

In a three-week trial, mild stomach upset was about as common with lemon balm (4 of 52 people) as with placebo (5 of 48).2

In a single-dose trial in 11 healthy adults, an extract providing 500 mg of rosmarinic acid caused no adverse events, and in a 96-week trial in 323 older adults, vital signs and physical and neurological checks did not differ from placebo. The abstracts we read do not mention headache.7,8

How much weight the evidence can carry

A 2021 systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials of lemon balm in people with anxiety or depression symptoms reports its results as coming without serious side effects, and warns that the trials were few and differed a great deal.4

A 2016 review of lemon balm's pharmacology says data on adverse effects of its extracts, and on interactions with standard medicines, are still limited.5

Taken together, the sources show headache was noticed in small trials, not that lemon balm caused it. Because people given placebo also report headaches, a trial can show a difference only if it counts headaches in both groups, and the sources do not give those counts.1

Headaches have many causes

MedlinePlus says almost everyone has had a headache, and that it is the most common form of pain. A headache that follows a new supplement may therefore have another cause, and lemon balm is often one ingredient in a blend, so a headache cannot be pinned on it without looking at everything a person takes.1,9

MedlinePlus says to let a provider know about sudden, severe headaches, and to get medical help right away for a headache after a blow to the head or with a stiff neck, fever, confusion, loss of consciousness, or pain in the eye or ear.9

Who should ask a doctor or pharmacist first

Anyone who gets a new or repeated headache after starting lemon balm can ask a doctor or pharmacist to look at the product and at the rest of what they take. People who take sedatives, sleep medicines or thyroid medicine can ask first, because those are the two cautions raised by lemon balm studies in adults.10,11

Questions people ask

Can lemon balm tea cause headaches?

The sources describe extracts and capsules from trials, and none tests tea for headache. LiverTox lists headache among minor effects of extracts, often as frequent with placebo.1

Does lemon balm cause dizziness?

Both NIH sources list dizziness among occasional effects in adults. LiverTox says these minor effects were often as frequent with placebo, so a trial cannot say lemon balm was the cause.1,3

Does lemon balm cause stomach upset?

In a three-week trial of 100 adults, mild stomach upset was reported by 4 of 52 people on lemon balm and 5 of 48 on placebo. NIH's lactation database lists nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain as occasional effects.2,3

When should a headache after lemon balm be checked by a doctor?

MedlinePlus says to tell a provider about sudden, severe headaches and to get medical help right away for a headache with a stiff neck, fever, confusion or loss of consciousness, whatever the cause.9

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Sources

  1. Lemon Balm. In: LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury. Bethesda (MD): National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; 2012 onward. Updated February 10, 2024. Read from the chapter text in NIH's LiverTox open-access archive. Opened 2026-10-11.
  2. Bano A, Hepsomali P, Rabbani F, et al. The possible calming effect of subchronic supplementation of a standardised phospholipid carrier-based Melissa officinalis L. extract in healthy adults with emotional distress and poor sleep conditions: results from a prospective, randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Front Pharmacol. 2023;14:1250560. Opened 2026-10-07.
  3. Lemon Balm. In: Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed). Bethesda (MD): National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; 2006 onward. Updated March 15, 2026. Read through PubMed. Opened 2026-10-07.
  4. Ghazizadeh J, Sadigh-Eteghad S, Marx W, et al. The effects of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) on depression and anxiety in clinical trials: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Phytother Res. 2021;35(12):6690-6705. Opened 2026-10-11.
  5. Shakeri A, Sahebkar A, Javadi B. Melissa officinalis L.: A review of its traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology. J Ethnopharmacol. 2016;188:204-228. Opened 2026-10-11.
  6. Jandaghi P, Noroozi M, Ardalani H, Alipour M. Lemon balm: A promising herbal therapy for patients with borderline hyperlipidemia. A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. Complement Ther Med. 2016;26:136-140. Opened 2026-10-11.
  7. Noguchi-Shinohara M, Ono K, Hamaguchi T, et al. Pharmacokinetics, Safety and Tolerability of Melissa officinalis Extract which Contained Rosmarinic Acid in Healthy Individuals: A Randomized Controlled Trial. PLoS One. 2015;10(5):e0126422. Opened 2026-10-07.
  8. Noguchi-Shinohara M, Hamaguchi T, Sakai K, et al. Effects of Melissa officinalis Extract Containing Rosmarinic Acid on Cognition in Older Adults Without Dementia: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Alzheimers Dis. 2023;91(2):805-814. Opened 2026-10-07.
  9. MedlinePlus Health Topics. Headache. National Library of Medicine; content from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Read October 11, 2026. Opened 2026-10-11.
  10. Kennedy DO, Scholey AB, Tildesley NT, Perry EK, Wesnes KA. Modulation of mood and cognitive performance following acute administration of Melissa officinalis (lemon balm). Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2002;72(4):953-964. Opened 2026-10-07.
  11. Auf'mkolk M, Ingbar JC, Amir SM, et al. Inhibition by certain plant extracts of the binding and adenylate cyclase stimulatory effect of bovine thyrotropin in human thyroid membranes. Endocrinology. 1984;115(2):527-534. Opened 2026-10-07.

This page is information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.